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'    5 


THE    WRITINGS    ON   ART 


OF 


ANNA  JAMESON 

IN   FIVE  VOLUMES 
VOL.  IV 


PESAKO  MADONNA  (Titian).    Page  162 


LEGENDS  OF  THE   MADONNA 
BY  ANNA  JAMESON 


EDITED,  WITH  ADDITIONAL  NOTES 

BY  ESTELLE   M    HURLL 

AND 

ABUNDANTLY  ILLUSTRATED  WITH   DESIGNS 

FROM  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  ART 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON,   MIFFLIN   AND   COMPANY 

(Cfce  OtUcraibc  $}xese,  tfamkibfle 


Copyright,  1895, 
By  HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO. 

All  rights  reserved. 


Vie  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  V.  S.  A. 
F.lectrotyped  aud  Printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  &  Co. 


Tut 


EDITOE'S   PEEFACE 

The  method  of  revising  the  Legends  of  the  Madonna  has 
heen  the  same  as  that  followed  in  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art, 
and  is  so  fully  explained  in  the  preface  to  that  work  that  it 
is  only  necessary  to  repeat  here  that  the  editor's  duties  have 
been  to  investigate  the  authorship  of  each  work  of  art  men- 
tioned, to  ascertain  the  present  locality  of  the  same,  and  to 
add  to  the  lists  of  examples  ixnder  each  subject  such  modern 
works  as  are  worthy  to  be  classed  with  them. 

It  has  not  always  been  possible  to  discover  the  whereabouts 
of  pictures  in  private  collections,  as  many  of  these  collections 
are  inaccessible  to  the  general  public,  and  some  are  no  longer 
intact.  The  following  are  known  to  have  been  dispersed  since 
Mrs.  Jameson's  writing :  The  Wallerstein  collection  of  Ken- 
sington Palace  ;  Lord  Shrewsbury's  collection  at  Alton  Towers 
(sold  in  1857)  ;  Lord  Orford's  (sold  in  1856)  ;  Lord  North- 
wick's  (sold  in  1859)  ;  Mr.  Bromley's  (sold  in  1863)  ;  the 
Puller-Maitland  collection  (sold  in  1879)  ;  the  Eastlake  collec- 
tion (sold  in  1894)  ;  the  Blenheim  collection,  and  that  belong- 
ing to  Mr.  Samuel  Kogers. 

The  text  of  this  volume,  like  that  in  the  other  volumes  of 
the  series,  will  be  found  materially  unchanged,  and  the  editorial 
comments  can  be  readily  distinguished  therefrom  by  the  brack- 
ets in  which  they  are  inclosed.  The  scheme  of  illustrations 
has  been  very  carefully  prepared,  with  a  view  to  selecting 
from  the  multitude  of  examples  described  by  Mrs.  Jameson 
those  which  constitute  a  representative  treatment  of  Madonna 
art. 

ESTELLE    M.    HURLL. 
New  Bkdfokd.  Mass.,  April,  1895. 


saiiia 


PREFACE   TO   THE   FIRST   EDITION 

In  presenting  to  my  friends  and  to  the  public  this  Third 
Series  of  the  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  few  preparatory  words 
will  be  required. 

If  in  the  former  volumes  I  felt  diffident  of  my  own  pow- 
ers to  do  any  justice  to  my  subject,  I  have  yet  been  encour- 
aged by  the  sympathy  and  approbation  of  those  who  have 
kindly  accepted  of  what  has  been  done,  and  yet  more  kindly 
excused  deficiencies,  errors,  and  oversights,  which  the  wide 
range  of  subjects  rendered  almost  unavoidable. 

With  far  more  of  doubt  and  diffidence,  yet  not  less  trust 
in  the  benevolence  and  candor  of  my  critics,  do  I  present 
this  volume  to  the  public.  I  hope  it  will  be  distinctly  un- 
derstood that  the  general  plan  of  the  work  is  merely  artistic ; 
that  it  really  aims  at  nothing  more  than  to  render  the  various 
subjects  intelligible.  For  this  reason  it  has  been  thought  ad- 
visable to  set  aside,  in  a  great  measure,  individual  preferences, 
and  all  predilections  for  particular  Schools  and  particular  Peri- 
ods of  Art  —  to  take,  in  short,  the  widest  possible  range  as 
regards  examples  —  and  then  to  leave  the  reader,  when  thus 
guided  to  the  meaning  of  what  he  sees,  to  select,  compare,  ad- 
mire, according  to  his  own  discrimination,  taste,  and  require- 
ments. The  great  difficulty  has  been  to  keep  within  reason- 
able limits.  Though  the  subject  has  a  unity  not  found  in  the 
other  volumes,  it  is  really  boundless  as  regards  variety  and 
complexity.  I  may  have  been  superficial  from  mere  super- 
abundance of  materials  ;  sometimes  mistaken  as  to  facts  and 
dates ;  the  taste,  the  feelings,  and  the  faith  of  my  readers 
may  not  always  go  along  with  me ;  but  if  attention  and  inter- 
est have  been  excited  —  if  the  sphere  of  enjoyment  in  works 


PREFACE   TO   THE   FIRST   EDITION  vii 

of  Art  have  been  enlarged  and  enlightened,  I  have  done  all  I 
ever  wished  —  all  I  ever  hoped,  to  do. 

With  regard  to  a  point  of  infinitely  greater  importance,  I 
may  be  allowed  to  plead  —  that  it  has  been  impossible  to  treat 
of  the  representations  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  without  touching 
on  doctrines  such  as  constitute  the  principal  differences  be- 
tween the  creeds  of  Christendom.  I  have  had  to  ascend  most 
perilous  heights,  to  dive  into  terribly  obscure  depths.  Not 
for  worlds  would  I  be  guilty  of  a  scoffing  allusion  to  any  be- 
lief or  any  object  held  sacred  by  sincere  and  earnest  hearts  ; 
but  neither  has  it  been  possible  for  me  to  write  in  a  tone 
of  acquiescence,  where  I  altogether  differ  in  feeling  and 
opinion.  On  this  point  I  shall  need,  and  feel  sure  that  I  shall 
obtain,  the  generous  construction  of  readers  of  all  persuasions. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Authorities  referred  to  by  the  Author  and  by  the 
Editor xix 

I.  INTRODUCTION 

L  Origin  and  History  of  the  Effigies  of  the  Ma- 
donna. Origin  of  the  Worship  of  the  Madonna.  — 
Earliest  artistic  Representations.  —  Origin  of  the 
Group  of  the  Virgin  and  Child  in  the  Fifth  Century. 

—  The  First  Council  at  Ephesus.  —  The  Iconoclasts. 

—  First  Appearance  of  the  Effigy  of  the  Virgin  on 
Coins.  —  Period  of  Charlemagne.  —  Period  of  the  Cru- 
sades.—  Revival  of  Art  in  the  Thirteenth  Century. — 
The  Fourteenth  Century.  —  Influence  of  Dante.  — 
The  Fifteenth  Century.  —  The  Council  of  Constance 
and  the  Hussite  Wars.  —  The  Sixteenth  Century.  — 
The  Luxury  of  Church  Pictures.  —  The  Influence  of 
Classical  Literature  on  the  Representations  of  the  Vir- 
gin. —  The  Seventeenth  Century.  —  Theological  Art. 

—  Spanish  Art.  —  Influence  of  Jesuitism  on  Art.  —  Au- 
thorities followed  by  Painters  in  the  earliest  Times. 

—  Legend  of  St.  Luke.  —  Character  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  as  drawn  in  the  Gospels.  —  Early  Descriptions 
of  her  Person ;  how  far  attended  to  by  the  Painters. 

—  Poetical  Extracts  descriptive  of  the  Virgin  Mary      .       1 
II.  Symbols   and   Attributes   of   the   Virgin.     Proper 

Costume  and  Colors 33 

III.  Devotional  and  Historical  Representations.    Al- 

tar-pieces. —  The  Life  of  the  Virgin  Mary  as  treated  in 
a  Series.  —  The  Seven  Joys  and  Seven  Sorrows  as  a 
Series 42 

IV.  Titles  of  the  Virgin  Mary.     Expressed  in  Pictures 

and  Effigies.  —  Churches  dedicated  to  her. —  Conclu- 
sion      56 


x  CONTENTS 

n.  DEVOTIONAL  SUBJECTS 

PART  I.      THE   VIRGIN  WITHOUT   THE   CHILD 

The  Virgin  Mary.  Earliest  Figures.  — The  Mosaics.  —  The 
Virgin  of  San  Venanzio.  —  The  Enthroned  Virgin 
without  the  Child,  as  type  of  Heavenly  Wisdom.  — 
Various  Examples 0-4 

L'  Incoronata.  The  Type  of  the  Church  Triumphant.—  The 
Virgin  crowned  by  her  Son.  —  Examples  from  the  old 
Mosaics.  —  Examples  of  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin 
from  various  Painters 72 

The  Virgin  of  Mercy.  As  represented  in  the  Last  Judg- 
ment. —  As  Dispenser  of  Mercy  on  Earth.  —  Various 
Examples So 

TnE  Mater  Dolorosa.  Seated  or  standing,  with  the  Seven 
Swords.— The  Stabat  Mater,  the  ideal  Pieta. —  The 
Votive  Pieta,  by  Guido 92 

Our  Lady  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  Origin  of  the 
Subject.  —  History  of  the  Theological  Dispute.  —  The 
First  Papal  Decree  touching  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion. —  The  Bull  of  Paul  V.  —  The  Popularity  of  the 
Subject  in  Spain.  —  Pictures  by  Guido,  by  Roelas,  Ve- 
lasquez, Murillo.  —  The  Predestination  of  the  Virgin 
—  Curious  picture  by  Cotignola 

PART  II.      THE  VIRGIN  AND  CHILD  ENTHRONED 

Virgo  Deipara.  The  Virgin  in  her  maternal  Character.  —  Ori- 
gin of  the  Group  of  the  Mother  and  Child.  —  Nesto- 
rian  Controversy.  —  The  Enthroned  Virgin  in  the  old 
Mosaics.  —  In  early  Italian  Art.  —  The  Virgin  stand- 
ing as  Regina  Cceli 11- 

La  Madre  Pia  enthroned.  —  Mater  Sapientke  with  the  Book  .  124 

The  Virgin  and  Child  enthroned  with  attendant  Figures  : 
with  Angels;  with  Prophets;  with  Apostles;  with 
Saints  — John  the  Baptist,  St.  Anna,  St.  Joachim,  St. 
Joseph  ;  with  Martyrs  and  Patron  Saints      ....     130 

Various  Examples  of  Arrangement.  With  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church  ;  with  St.  Jerome  and  St.  Catherine ;  with  the 
Marriage  of  St.  Catherine.  —  The  Virgin  and  Child 
between  St.  Catherine  and  St,  Barbara ;  with  Mary 
Magdalene;  with  St.  Lucia.  — The  Virgin  and  Child 


99 


CONTEXTS  Xi 

between  St.  George  and  St.  Nicholas  ;  with  St.  Christo- 
pher ;  with  St.  Leonard.  —  The  Virgin  of  Charity  .    .  138 

The  Madonnas  of  Florence;  of  Siena;  of  Venice  and  Lom- 
bard}-. —  The  Virgin  attended  by  the  Monastic  Saints. 
—  Examples  from  various  Painters 147 

Votive  Madonnas.     For  Mercies  accorded  :  for  Victory ;  for 

Deliverance  from  Pestilence  ;  against  Flood  and  Fire    151 

Family  Votive  Madonnas.  Examples  :  the  Madonna  of  the 
Bentivoglio  Family ;  the  Madonna  of  the  Sforza  Fam- 
ily ;  the  Madonna  of  the  Meyer  Family.  —  The  Ma- 
donna di  Foligno.  —  German  Votive  Madonna  at 
Rouen.  —  Madonna  of  Rene,  Duke  of  Anjou.  —  La 
Vierge  au  Donateur.  —  Madonna  of  the  Pesaro  Family 
at  Venice 156 

Half-length   Enthroned    Madonnas ;  first   introduced  by  the 

Venetians  ;  various  Examples 163 

The  Mater  Amabilis.  The  infinite  Variety  given  to  this  Sub- 
ject. —  Early  Greek  Examples.  —  Virgin  and  Child 
with  St.  John.  —  He  takes  the  Cross 166 

The  Madre  Pia;  the  Virgin  adores  her  Son 176 

Pastoral  Madonnas  of  the  Venetian  School 178 

III.  HISTORICAL  SUBJECTS 

TART  I.      THE   LIFE   OF   THE   VIRGIN    MARY  FROM    HER    BIRTH    TO 
HER   MARRIAGE   WITH   JOSEPH 

The  Legend  of  Joachim  and  Anna.  Joachim  rejected 
from  the  Temple.  —  Joachim  herding  his  Sheep  on 
the  Mountain.  —  The  Altercation  between  Anna  and 
her  Maid  Judith.  —  The  Meeting  before  the  Golden 

Gate 184 

The  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.    The  Importance 

and  Beauty  of  the  Subject.  —  How  treated     .     .     .     .193 
Tin-:  Presentation  of  the  Virgin.   A  Subject  of  great  Im- 
portance. —  General  Arrangement  and  Treatment. — 
Various  Examples  from  celebrated  Painters   .     .     .     .11)6 

The  Virgin  in  the  Temple 200 

The  Girlhood  of  the  Virgin 200 

The  Marriage  of  the  Virgin.  The  Legend  as  followed  by 
the  Painters. — Various  Examples  of  the  Marriage  of 
the  Virgin,  as  treated  by  IVrugino,  Raphael,  and 
others 202 


xii  CONTENTS 

PART  II.      THE  LIFE   OF    THE  VIRGIN  MARY  FROM    THE  ANNUNCIA- 
TION TO  THE  RETURN  FROM  EGYPT 

The  Annunciation.     Its  Beauty  as  a  Subject.  —  Treated  as 

a  Mystery  and  as  an  Event 209 

The  Annunciation  as  a  Mystery.  Not  earlier  than  the 
Eleventh  Century.  —  Its  proper  Place  in  Architectural 
Decoration  :  On  Altar-pieces.  —  As  an  Allegory.  — 
The  Annunciation  as  expressing  the  Incarnation. — 
Ideally  treated  with  Saints  and  Votaries.  —  Examples 
by  Siraone  Memrai,  Fra  Bartolommeo,  Angelico,  and 
others 211 

The  Annunciation  as  an  Event.  The  appropriate  Cir- 
cumstances.—  The  Time,  the  Locality,  the  Accesso- 
ries. —  The  Descent  of  the  Angel ;  proper  Costume ; 
with  the  Lily,  the  Palm,  the  Olive.  —  Proper  Attitude 
and  Occupation  of  Mary  ;  Expression  and  Deportment. 
—  The  Dove.  —  Examples  from  various  Painters.  — 
Mistakes 219 

The  Visitation.  Character  of  Elizabeth.  —  The  Locality 
and  Circumstances.  —  Proper  Accessories.  —  Examples 
from  various  Painters 228 

The  Dream  of  Joseph.     He  entreats  Forgiveness  of  Mary  .  235 

The  Nativity.     The  Prophecy  of  the  Sibyl.  —  La  Madonna 

del  Parto 237 

The  Nativity  as  a  Mystery.     With  poetical  Accessories  ; 

with  Saints  and  Votaries 211 

The  Nativity  as  an  Event.  The  Time ;  the  Place ;  the 
proper  Accessories  and  Circumstances ;  the  angelic 
Choristers ;  Signification  of  the  Ox  and  the  Ass      .     .  241 

The  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds 218 

The  Adoration  of  the  Magi.  They  are  supposed  to  have 
been  Kings.  —  Prophecy  of  Balaam.  —  The  Appear- 
ance of  the  Star.  —  The  Legend  of  the  Three  Kings 
of  Cologne.  —  Proper  Accessories.  —  Examples  from 
various  Painters.  —  The  Land  Surveyors,  by  Gior- 
gione 250 

The  Purification  of  the  Virgin,  the  Presentation, 
and  the  Circumcision  of  Christ.  The  Prophecy 
of  Simeon.  —  Greek  Legend  of  the  Nunc  Dimittis.  — 
Various  Examples 262 

The  Flight  into  Egypt.    The  Massacre  of  the  Innocents. 


CONTEXTS  Xlii 

—  The  Preparation  for  the  Journey.  —  The  Circum- 
stances. —  The  Legend  of  the  Robbers ;  of  the  Palm  .  268 
The  Repose  of  tue  Holy  Family.     The  Subject  often  mis- 
taken.—  Proper  Treatment  of  the  Group.  —  The  Re- 
pose at  Matarea.  —  The  Ministry  of  Angels    ....  275 

The  Legend  of  the  Gypsy 279 

The  Return  from  Egypt 283 


PART  III.      THE    LIFE    OF    THE   VIRGIN   MARY    FROM   THE    SOJOURN 
IN  EGYPT  TO  THE  CRUCIFIXION  OF  OUR  LORD 

The    Holy   Family.    Proper   Treatment   of  the   Domestic 

Group  as  distinguished  from  the  Devotional  ....  284 

Two  Figures.  The  simplest  Form  of  the  Family  Group 
that  of  the  Mother  and  Child.  —  The  Child  fed  from 
his  Mother's  Bosom.  —  The  Infant  sleeps 280 

Three  Figures.     With  the  little  St.  John  ;  with  St.  Joseph; 

with  St.  Anna 290 

Four  Figures.     With  St.  Elizabeth  and  others 295 

Five  or  Six  Figures 296 

The  Family  of  the  Virgin  grouped  together  ....  290 
Examples   of    Holy   Family   as    treated    by  various 

Artists 298 

The  Carpenter's  Shop 301 

The  Infant  Christ  learning  to  read 303 

The  Dispute  in  the  Temple.     The  Virgin  seeks  her  Son     .  304 

The  Death  of  Joseph 307 

The  Marriage  at  Cana  in  Galilee.  Proper  Treatment 
of  the  Virgin  in  this  subject ;  as  treated  by  Luini 
and  by  Paul  Veronese 309 

The  Ministry  of  Christ.     Mystical  Treatment  by  Fra  An- 

gelico 312 

Lo  Spasimo.  Christ  takes  leave  of  his  Mother.  —  Women 
who  are  introduced  into  Scenes  of  the  Passion  of  our 
Lord.  —  The  Procession  to  Calvary.  —  Lo  Spasimo  di 
Sicilia 313 

The  Crucifixion-.  Proper  Treatment  of  the  Virgin  in  this 
Subject.  —  The  impropriety  of  placing  her  upon  the 
Ground.  —  Her  Fortitude.  —  Christ  recommends  his 
Mother  to  St.  John 317 

Tin:  Descent  prom  tin:  Cross.     Proper  Place  and  Action 

of  the  Virgin  in  this  Subject 319 


XIV  CONTENTS 

The  Deposition.  Proper  Treatment  of  this  Form  of  the 
Mater  Dolorosa.  —  Persons  introduced.  —  Various  Ex- 
amples     322 

The  Entombment.  Treated  as  an  Historical  Scene.  —  As 
one  of  the  Sorrows  of  the  Rosary.  —  Attended  by- 
Saints      324 

The  Mater  Dolorosa  attended  by  St.  Peter.  —  Attended  by  St. 

John  and  Mary  Magdalene 326 

PART  IV.      THE  LIFE    OF  THE  VIRGIN  MARY  FROM  THE    RESURREC- 
TION OF  OUR  LORD  TO  THE  ASSUMPTION 

The  Apparition  of  Christ  to  his  Mother.  Beauty  and 
Sentiment  of  the  old  Legend  ;  how  represented  by 
the  Artists 328 

The  Ascension.     The  proper  Place  of  the  Virgin  Mary    .     .  332 

The  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Mary  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal Persons 332 

The  Apostles  take  Leave  of  the  Virgin 334 

The  Death  and  Assumption  of  the  Virgin.    The  old  Greek 

Legend 335 

The  Angel   announcing    to   Mary   her    approaching 

Death 340 

The  Death  of  the  Virgin.  An  ancient  and  important  Sub- 
ject. —  As  treated  in  the  Greek  School ;  in  early  Ger- 
man Art ;  in  Italian  Art.  —  Various  Examples  .     .     .  341 

The   Apostles  carry  the  Body  of   the  Virgin  to  the 

Tomb 346 

The  Entombment 347 

The  Assumption.  Distinction  between  the  Assumption  of 
the  Body  and  the  Assumption  of  the  Soul  of  the  Vir- 
gin. —  The  Assumption  as  a  Mystery ;  as  an  Event. 
—  The  Legend  of  the  Girdle ;  as  painted  in  the  Ca- 
thedral at  Prato.  —  Examples  of  the  Assumption  as 
represented  by  various  Artists 347 

The  Coronation  as  distinguished  from  the  Incoronata.  How 

treated  as  an  Historical  Subject 358 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTKATIONS 


PAGE 


Pesaro   Madonna   (Titian).     Church   of  the  Frari,   Venice 

(See  page  16:2) Frontispiece 

Bas-relief  (early  Christian  sarcophagus) 8 

Bas-relief  (early  Christian  sarcophagus) 9 

The  Virgin  (mosaic).     Oratory   of  S.   Venanzio,   St.   John 

Lateran,  Rome 65 

Madonna   (attributed  to  Simone  Memnii).     Campo  Santo, 

Pisa 67 

Virgo  Sapientissima  (Van  Eyck).     Berlin  Gallery    ....  69 
Virgin  from  Disputa  (Raphael).     Camera  della  Segnatura, 

Vatican 70 

Coronation  (mosaic,  1290).     S.  Maria  Maggiore,  Rome     .     .  75 

Coronation  (Pinturicchio).     Vatican  Gallery 77 

Coronation  of  the  Virgin  (Botticelli).     Florence  Academy 

facing  80 

Coronation  (Hans  Holbein  the  Elder) 83 

The  Virgin  and  Christ  from  the  Last  Judgment  (attributed 

to  Orcagna).     Campo  Santo,  Pisa 86 

La  Madonna  di  Misericordia  (bas-relief,  thirteenth  centiuy). 

Abbazia  della  Misericordia,  Venice 88 

La  Madonna  di  Misericordia  (Piero  della  Francesca)     ...  89 
La  Misericordia  di  Lucca  (Bartolommeo).     Lucca  Gallery 

facing  90 
Stabat   Mater  (Angelico).     From   Crucifixion,  San  Marco, 

Florence 93 

Mater  Dolorosa  (P.  de  Champaigne) 95 

Pieta  (Michael  Angelo).     St.  Peter's,  Rome 96 

Pieta  (Martin  Schoen) 97 

Immaculate  Conception  (Murillo).     Louvre,  Paris  .    firing  106 

Immaculate  Conception  (Guido).     Faenza 107 

Virgo  Deipara  (painting  in  Catacombs).    Rome 114 

Madonna  and  Child  (( inido  da  Siena).     S.  Domenico,  Siena  .  119 

Madonna  and  Child  (Cimabue).    S.  Maria  Novella,  Florence  120 

Madonna  di  San  Brizio.     Cathedral,  Orvieto 121 


xvi  LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Madonna  and  Child  (Martin  Schoen) 122 

Madonna  and  Child  (attributed  to  Van  Eyck) 123 

Madonna  and  Child  (Bellini).     Venice  Academy     ....  124 

Mater  Sapientise 125 

Madonna  of  the  Harpies  (Andrea  del  Sarto).     Pitti,  Flor- 
ence    128 

Enthroned  Madonna   (Carlo   Crivelli).      National   Gallery, 

London 129 

Madonna  di   Foligno    (Raphael).     Vatican   Gallery,  Rome 

facing  130 
Enthroned  Madonna  with  Archangels  (mosaic).     S.  Apolli- 

nare  Nuovo,  Ravenna 131 

St.  Anna,  Madonna,  and  Child  (Francesco  da  San  Gallo).   Or 

San  Michele,  Florence 136 

Madonna  of  the  Fish  (Raphael).     Madrid  Gallery   ....  139 

Madonna  of  Victory  (Mantegna).     Louvre,  Paris      .    facing  152 

Madonna  del  Voto.     Siena 153 

Meyer  Madonna  (Holbein).     Dresden  Gallery .     .     .    facing  158 

Madonna  of  the  Ink-horn  (Botticelli).    Uffizi,  Florence  facing  164 

Greco-Italian  Madonna.     Perugia 167 

Greco-Italian  Madonna.     S.  Maria  in  Cosmedino,  Rome    .     .  168 

Madonna  (Squarcione).     Berlin  Gallery 169 

Madonna  (Bartolommeo).     S.  Marco,  Florence 170 

Madonna  (Albert  Diirer) 171 

Madonna  della  Seggiola  (Raphael).     Pitti,  Florence     .     .     .  172 

Madonna  (Lucas  van  Leyden) 173 

Madonna  (Bellini).     National  Gallery,  London 174 

Madonna  of  the  Meadow  (Raphael).     Belvedere,  Vienna  .     .  175 

Madonna  (Correggio).     Uffizi,  Florence 177 

Madonna  (Filippo  Lippi).     Uffizi,  Florence 178 

Sacra  Conversazione  (Palma).     Uffizi,  Florence 180 

Joachim  rejected   from  the   Temple   (Taddeo   Gaddi).     S. 

Croce,  Florence 188 

Meeting  of  Joachim  and  Anna  (Albert  Diirer) 191 

Birth  of  the  Virgin  (Greco-Italian) 193 

Birth  of  the  Virgin  (Ghirlandajo).     S.  Maria  Novella,  Flor- 
ence   facing  194 

Presentation  of  the  Virgin  (Carpaccio).     Brera,  Milan      .     .  199 

Marriage  of  the  Virgin  (Angelico).     Uffizi,  Florence    .     .     .  203 

Marriage  of  the  Virgin  (Raphael).     Brera,  Milan     .    facing  206 
Annunciation  (Della  Robbia).     Hospital  of  the  Innocents, 

Florence 209 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS  xvii 

Annunciation  (attributed  to  Stephen  Lothener).     Cathedral, 

Cologne 211 

Annunciation  (Lorenzo  Monaco).     Florence  Academy      .     .  213 

Annunciation  (Bartolommeo).     Louvre,  Paris      .     .    facing  216 

Annunciation  (Angelico).     S.  Marco,  Florence 218 

Annunciation  (Van  Eyck) 221 

Annunciation  (Albert  Diirer) 223 

Visitation  (Ghirlandajo).     Louvre,  Paris 231 

Visitation  (Lucas  van  Ley  den) 232 

Visitation  (Albertinelli).     Uffizi,  Florence 234 

Sibyl's  Prophecy  (Peruzzi).     Fonte  Giusta,  Siena     ....  239 

Nativity  (Lorenzo  di  Credi).     Pitti,  Florence 242 

Adoration  of  the  Shepherds  (Mengs).     Madrid  Gallery    .     .  249 

Adoration  of  the  Kings  (Ghirlandajo).   Pitti,  Florence  facing  256 

Adoration  of  the  Kings  (Memling) 257 

Adoration  of  the  Kings  (Martin  Schoen) 259 

Presentation  in  the  Temple  (Byzantine) 265 

Presentation   in   the    Temple   (Bartolommeo).      Belvedere, 

Vienna 266 

Presentation  in  the  Temple  (Van  der  AVeyden).     Munich 

Gallery 267 

Flight  into  Egypt  (Rembrandt) 273 

Repose  in  Egypt  (Lucas  van  Leyden) 277 

Repose  in  Egypt  (Vandyck).     Pitti,  Florence  .     .     .    facing  278 

Return  from  Egypt  (Vanni).     S.  Querico,  Siena 282 

Madonna  of  the  Green  Cushion  (Solario).     Louvre,  Paris      .  287 

Garvagh  Madonna  (Raphael).     National  Gallery,  London     .  291 

Loretto  Madonna  (Raphael) 293 

Christ  among  the  Doctors  (attributed  to  Giotto).     Florence 

Academy 305 

Lo  Spasimo  di  Sicilia  (Raphael) facing  316 

Group   from    Descent   from    Cross  (Volterra).     Trinita  de' 

Monti,  Rome 320 

Deposition  (Raphael).     Drawing  in  Louvre 321 

Group  from  Deposition  (Perugino).     Pitti,  Florence    .     .     .  323 

Christ  appearing  to  his  Mother  (Albert  Diirer) 331 

Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     From  MS.  of  Laurentian  Li- 
brary       333 

Angel  announcing  to  the  Virgin  her  approaching  Death  (Or- 

cagna).     Or  San  Michele,  Florence 339 

Angel    announcing  to   the  Virgin   her   approaching   Death 

(Kilippo  Lippi).     Florence  Academy 340 


xviii  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Death  of  the  Virgin  (Albert  Diirer) 343 

Death  and  Assumption  of  the  Virgin  (Orcagna).     Or  San 

Michele,  Florence facing     348 

Assumption  of  the  Virgin  (Titian).     Venice  Academy      .     .     355 
Assumption  of  the  Virgin  (Granacci).   Ruccellai  Palace,  Flor- 
ence   357 

Coronation  of  the  Virgin  (attributed  to  Raphael).     Vatican 
Gallery,  Rome facing    358 


AUTHOEITIES   EEFEKKED   TO   BY   THE 

AUTHOK 

Memorie  dell'  Imagine  di  M.  V.  dell'  Impruneta.     Florence,  1714. 
Antonio  Bosio.     Roma  Subterranea.     Rome,  1651. 
Giovanni  Giustino  Ciampini.     Opera  ed  auct.     Romse,  1747. 
Antonio   Francesco   Gori.      Thesaurus    Gemmarum    antiquarum 

astriferarum.     Florence,  1750.1 
Friedrich  Christian  Carl  Heinrich  Miinter.     Sinnbilder  und  Kunst- 

vorstellungen  der  alten  Christen.     Altona,  1825. 
Adolphe  Napoleon  Didron.     Manuel  d'Iconographie  Chretienne. 

Paris,  1845. 
L'Abbe-  Crosnier,  Iconographie  Chretienne.     Paris,  1848.2 
Conte  Carlo  Cesare  Malvasia.     Felsina  Pittrice.     Bologna,  1841. 
Marco  Lastri.     L'  Etruria  Pittrice.     Florence,  1791-95. 
Carlo  Ridolfi.     Maraviglia  dell'  Arte  ;  ovvero  le  vite  degli  illustri 

pittori  veneti  e  dello  stato.     Padua,  1835-37. 
Count  Leopoldo  Cicognara.     Scultura  Moderna.     Prato,  1823. 
Seroux  d'Agincourt.     Histoire  de  l'Art  par  les  Monumens.    Paris, 

1823. 
Luigi  Lanzi.     Storia  Pittorica  della  Italia.     Milan,  1824. 
Giovanni  Rosini.     Storia  della  Pittura  Italiana.     Pisa,  1839. 
Giovanni   Gaye.      Carteggio  inedito  d'  Artisti  dei   Secoli  14-10. 

Florence,  1839-40. 
Carlo  Lasinio.     Ancient  Florentine  Masters. 

Giorgio   Vasari.     Vite  dei   Pittori,   Scultori   e  Architetti.     Flor- 
ence, 1840-57. 
Giorgio  Vasari.     English  Translation.     London.     1851. 
William  Young  Ottley.     History  of  Engraving.     London,  1810. 
A.  F.  Rio.     L'Art  Chretien.     Paris,  1861. 
Lord  Lindsay.     Sketches  of  Christian  Art.     London,  1847. 
Sir  Chas.  Eastlake's  Revision  of  Kugler's  Handbook  of  the  Italian 

Schools.     London,  1842. 

1  It  is  thought  probable  that  this  edition  was  used  by  Mrs.  Jameson,  as  a 
copy  of  it  is  in  the  British  Museum.  Other  editions  were  published  in  Florence 
in  1740  and  in  Koine  in  1797. 

2  Reprinted  in  Tours  in  1876. 


XX  AUTHORITIES   CONSULTED   BY   THE   EDITOR 

Sir  William   Stirling-Maxwell.     Annals  of  the  Artists  of  Spain. 
London,  1848. 

Louisa   Twining.      Symbols  of   Early   Christian  Art.      London, 
1852. 

J.  D.  Passavant.     Rafael  von  Urbino.     Leipzig,  1839. 

Adam  von  Bartsch.     Le  Peintre  Graveur.     Vienna,  1813. 

Pietro  Zani.     Enciclopedia  metodica  critico-ragionata  delle  Belle 

Arti.     Parma,  1817-23. 
Anna  Jameson.     Handbook  to  Private  Galleries  of  Art.     London, 

1841. 
Augustine.     Opera. 
Adr.  Baillet.     Fetes  Mobiles.     Paris,  1704  (4  vols,  folio) ;  Paris, 

1701,  1704  (17  vols.  Svo)  ;  Paris,  1739  (16  vols.  4to).1 
James  Dennistoun.     Memoirs  of  the  Dukes  of  Urbino.     London, 

1851. 
Count  Pompeo  Litta.     Famiglie  Celebri  d'  Italia.     Milan,  1819. 
Jeremy  Taylor.     Life  of  Christ.     London,  1854. 
J.  A.  W.  Neander.     History  of  the  Christian  Church.     Translated 

by  J.  E.  Ryland.     London,  1851. 
L'Abbe  Joseph  Mery.     Theologie  des  Peintres.     Paris,  1765. 
Henry  Hallam.     History  of  the  Literature  of  Europe.     London, 

1837. 

AUTHORITIES   CONSULTED   BY   THE  EDITOR 

J.  Spencer  Northcote  and  W.  E.  Brownlow.     Roma  Sotterranea. 

London,  1869. 
Andre  Pe'rate.     Archaeologie  Chretienne.     Paris,  1892. 
P.  Raffaelo  Garrucci.     Storia  della  Arte  Cristiana.     Prato,  1879. 
A.  N.  Didron.     Christian  Iconography  ;  vol.  i.,  translated  by  E.  J. 

Millington.     London,    1851.    Vol.   ii.,   translated  by   Margaret 

Stokes.     London,  1886. 
Louisa  Twining.      The   Symbols   of  Early  Christian  and  Medi- 
aeval Art.     London,  1885. 
Lord  Lindsay.     Sketches  of  Christian  Art.     London,  1885. 
Woltmann  and  Woermann.      History  of  Painting.      Translated 

by  Clara  Bell.     London,  1887. 
Eugene  Miintz.    Histoire  de  l'Art  pendant  la  Renaissance.     Paris, 

1889-1891. 
Robert  Dohme  and  others.     Kunst  und  Kiinstler  des  Mittelalters 

und  der  Neuzeit.     Leipzig.     1877-1886. 

1  It  is  impossible  to  learn  which  one  of  these  editions  was  Accessible  to  Mrs. 
Jameson. 


AUTHORITIES    CONSULTED    BY    THE   EDITOR  xxi 

Sir  Henry  Layard's  Revision  of  Kngler's  Handbook  of  the  Italian 
Schools.     London,  1887. 

Giovanni  Morelli.  Critical  Studies  of  Italian  Painters.  Trans- 
lated by  Constance  Jocelyn  Ffoulkes.     London,  1892. 

Gustavo  Frizzoni.     Arte  Italiana  del  Kinascimento.     Milan,  1891. 

Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle.  History  of  Painting  in  Italy.  London, 
1864. 

Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle.  History  of  Painting  in  North  Italy. 
London,  1871. 

Bernhard  Berenson.  The  Venetian  Painters  of  the  Renaissance. 
New  York  and  London,  189-1. 

Crowe's  Revision  of  Kngler's  Handbook  of  the  German,  Flem- 
ish and  Dutch  Schools.     London,  1889. 

Ernst  Forster  :  Denkmale  der  Deutschen  Kunst.  Leipzig,  1855- 
1869. 

H.  Janitschek.     Geschichte  der  Deutschen  Kunst.     Berlin,  1890. 

Sir  William  Stirling-Maxwell.  Annals  of  the  Artists  of  Spain. 
London,  1891. 

Clara  Cornelia  Stranahan.  History  of  French  Painting.  New 
York,  1888. 

Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle.  Raphael :  His  Life  and  Works.  Lon- 
don, 1882-1885. 

Eugene  Miintz.  Raphael.  Translated  by  Walter  Armstrong. 
London,  1882. 

J.  D.  Passavant.  Raphael.  Translated  in  an  abridged  English 
edition.     London  and  New  York,  1872. 

Gruyer.     Les  Vierges  de  Raphael.     Paris,  1869. 

Gutbier.     Raffael's  Madonnen.    Gutbier,  Dresden,  1881. 

Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle.  Titian :  His  Life  and  Times.  London, 
1877. 

Georges  La  Fenestre.     La  Vie  et  L'ffiuvre  de  Titien.     Paris. 

Frank  Preston  Stearns :  Life  and  Genius  of  Jacopo  Robusti. 
New  York,  1894. 

J.  A.  Symonds.  Life  of  Michel  Angelo  Buonarroti.  London, 
1893. 

Charles  B.Curtis.  Velasquez  and  Murillo.  Description  and  his- 
torical catalogue  of  their  works.     London  and  New  York,  1883. 

The  Works  of  Antonio  Canova,  engraved  by  Henry  Moses.  De- 
scription by  the  Countess  Albrizzi ;  biographical  memoir  by 
Count  Cicognara.     London,  1849. 

Moritz  Thawing.  Diirer:  His  Life  and  Works.  Translated 
from  the  German  by  F.  A.  Eaton.     London,  1882. 


xxii  AUTHORITIES   CONSULTED   BY   THE   EDITOR 

Emile  Michel.  Rembrandt :  his  Life,  his  Work  and  his  Time. 
Translated  from  the  French  by  Florence  Simmonds.  London, 
1894. 

Dimitri  Rovinksi.  Rembrandt  et  son  ceuvre  grave,  avec  un  cata- 
logue raisonne.     St.  Petersburg,  1890. 

Amand-Durand.     CEuvre  de  Schongauer.     Paris,  1881. 

Amand-Durand.     (Euvre  de  Lucas  de  Leyde.     Paris. 

Amand-Durand.     (Euvre  de  Diirer.     Paris. 

Malcolm  Bell.  Edward  Burne-Jones :  A  Record  and  Review. 
London  and  New  York,  1893. 

F.  G.  Stephens.    Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti.    In  Portfolio,  May,  1894. 

Henry  Van  Dyke.     The  Christ-Child  in  Art.     New  York,  1894. 

F.  W.  Farrar.  The  Life  of  Christ  in  Art.  London  and  New 
York,  1894. 

George  Redford  :  Art  Sales.     London,  1888. 

John  Denison  Champlin,  Jr.,  and  Charles  C.  Perkins :  Cyclopedia 
of  Painters  and  Painting.     New  York,  1886. 

Bryan.  Dictionary  of  Painters  and  Engravers.  Revised  by  Robt. 
Edmund  Graves.     London,  1886. 

J.  Burckhardt.  Le  Cicerone :  Guide  de  l'Art  Antique  et  de  l'Art 
Moderne.  Traduit  par  Aug  Gerard  sur  le  5ieme  edition  par  le 
docteur  Wilhelm  Bode.     Paris,  1892. 

Jean  Paul  Richter.  Italian  Art  in  the  National  Gallery.  London, 
1883. 

The  National  Gallery.  Foreign  Schools.  By  Authority.  Lon- 
don, 1892. 

Ernest  Law.  An  Illustrated  New  Guide  to  Hampton  Court  Pal- 
ace.    London,  1894. 

Windsor  Castle  :  Official  and  Authorized  Royal  Guide.     1894. 

Susan  and  Joanna  Horner.     AYalks  in  Florence.     London,  1873. 

Karl  Karoly.     Guide  to  the  Paintings  of  Florence.     London,  1893. 

Catalogue  de  la  Galerie  Royale  de  Venise.     Venice,  1892. 

R.  Pinacoteque  de  Bologne.     Bologna,  1883. 

Catalogo  della  R.  Pinacoteca  di  Milano.     Milan,  1892. 

Cav.  E.  G.  Massi.  Descrizione  delle  Gallerie  di  Pittura  nel  Pon- 
tificio  Palazzo  Vaticano.     Rome,  1887. 

D.  Pedro  de  Madrazo.  Catalogo  de  los  Cuadros  del  Museo  del 
Prado  de  Madrid.     Madrid,  1893. 

Catalogo  de  los  Cuadros  y  estatuas  en  el  museo  provincial  de  Se- 
villa.     Seville,  1888. 

La  Fenestre  et  Richtenberger.  Le  Musee  National  du  Louvre. 
Paris,  1893. 


AUTHORITIES   CONSULTED   BY   THE   EDITOR  XX1U 

F.  Villot.     Muse'e  National  du  Louvre.     Ecoles  Alleiaandes,  fla- 

mandes  et  hollondaises.     Paris,  1889. 
F.  Villot.     Muse'e  National  du  Louvre.     Tableaux  de  l'Ecole  fran- 

9ai.se.     Paris,  1891. 
Le   V"   Both  de   Tauzia.      Musee   National  du   Louvre.     Ecoles 

d'ltalie  et  d'Espagne.     Paris,  1894. 
Musee  National  du  Luxembourg.     Paris,  1894. 
Edouard  Fetis.     Catalogue  descriptif  et  historique  des  Tableaux 

Anciens  du  Musee  de  Bruxelles.     Brussels,  1889. 
Catalogue.     Muse'e  Royal  d'Anvers.     Antwerp,  1894. 
Karl   Woermann.      Katalog  der   Kbnigiichen  Gem'aldegalerie  zu 

Dresden.     Dresden,  1892. 
Eduard    Ritter    von    Engerth    and    Wilhelm    von    Wartenegg : 

Fiihrer  durch  die  Gemaldegalerie  zu  Wien.     Vienna,  1892. 
Beschreibendes   Verzeichnis   der   Gemalde.      Kbnigliehe   Museen 

zu  Berlin.     Berlin,  1891. 
Illustrierter  Katalog  der  Alten  Pinakothek.     OfRcielle  Ausgabe. 
Ermitage  Imperial.     Catalogue  de  la  Galerie  des  Tableaux.     Les 

Ecoles   d'ltalie  et   d'Espagne,  par  le   Bar.  E.  Briiningk  et  A. 

SoniorL     St.  Petersburg,  1891. 


LEGENDS   OF  THE  MADONNA 


I.   INTRODUCTION 

I.  Origin  and  History  of  the  Effigies  of  the 

Madonna 

Through  all  the  most  beautiful  and  precious  productions 
of  human  genius  and  human  skill  which  the  middle  ages  and 
the  renaissance  have  bequeathed  to  us,  we  trace,  more  or  less 
developed,  more  or  less  apparent,  present  in  shape  before  us, 
or  suggested  through  inevitable  associations,  one  prevailing 
idea ;  it  is  that  of  an  impersonation  in  the  feminine  character 
of  beneficence,  purity,  and  power,  standing  between  an  offended 
Deity  and  poor,  sinning,  suffering  humanity,  and  clothed  in 
the  visible  form  of  Mary,  the  Mother  of  our  Lord. 

To  the  Roman  Catholics  this  idea  remains  an  indisputable 
religious  truth  of  the  highest  import.  Those  of  a  different 
creed  may  think  fit  to  dispose  of  the  whole  subject  of  the  Ma- 
donna either  as  a  form  of  superstition  or  a  form  of  Art.  But 
merely  as  a  form  of  Art,  we  cannot  in  these  days  confine  our- 
selves to  empty  conventional  criticism.  We  are  obliged  to 
look  further  and  deeper ;  and  in  this  department  of  Legendary 
Art,  as  in  the  others,  we  must  take  the  higher  ground,  perilous 
though  it  be.  We  must  seek  to  comprehend  the  dominant 
idea  lying  behind  and  beyond  the  mere  representation.  For, 
after  all,  some  consideration  is  due  to  facts  which  we  must 
necessarily  accept,  whether  we  deal  with  antiquarian  theology 
or  artistic  criticism;  namely,  that  the  worship  of  the  Madonna 
did  prevail  through  all  the  Christian  and  civilized  world  for 
nearly  a  thousand  years ;  that,  in  spite  of  errors,  exaggera- 
tions, abuses,  tins  worship  did  comprehend  certain  great  ele- 
mental truths  interwoven  with  our  human  nature,  and  to  be 
evolved  perhaps  with  our  future  destinies.      Therefore  did  it 


2  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

work  itself  into  the  life  and  soul  of  man ;  therefore  has  it  been 
worked  out  in  the  manifestations  of  his  genius  ;  and  therefore 
the  multiform  imagery  in  which  it  has  been  clothed  from  the 
rudest  imitations  of  life  to  the  most  exquisite  creations  of  mind, 
may  he  resolved,  as  a  whole,  into  one  subject,  and  becomes 
one  great  monument  in  the  history  of  progressive  thought  and 
faith,  as  well  as  in  the  history  of  progressive  Art. 

Of  the  pictures  in  our  galleries,  public  or  private, — of  the 
architectural  adornments  of  those  majestic  edifices  which  sprang 
up  in  the  middle  ages  (where  they  have  not  been  despoiled 
or  desecrated  by  a  zeal  as  fervent  as  that  which  reared  them), 
the  largest  and  most  beautiful  portion  have  reference  to  the 
Madonna, — her  character,  her  person,  her  history.  It  was  a 
theme  which  never  tired  her  votaries,  —  whether,  as  in  the 
hands  of  great  and  sincere  artists,  it  became  one  of  the  noblest 
and  loveliest,  or,  as  in  the  hands  of  superficial,  unbelieving, 
time-serving  artists,  one  of  the  most  degraded.  All  that  hu- 
man genius,  inspired  by  faith,  could  achieve  of  best  —  all  that 
fanaticism,  sensualism,  atheism,  could  perpetrate  of  worse — do 
we  find  in  the  cycle  of  those  representations  which  have  been 
dedicated  to  the  glory  of  the  Virgin.  And  indeed  the  ethics 
of  the  Madonna  worship,  as  evolved  in  Art,  might  be  not 
unaptly  likened  to  the  ethics  of  human  love ;  so  long  as  the 
object  of  sense  remained  in  subjection  to  the  moral  idea  —  so 
long  as  the  appeal  was  to  the  best  of  our  faculties  and  affec- 
tions —  so  long  was  the  image  grand  or  refined,  and  the  influ- 
ences to  be  ranked  with  those  which  have  helped  to  humanize 
and  civilize  our  race ;  but  so  soon  as  the  object  became  a  mere 
idol,  then  worship  and  worshippers,  Art  and  artists,  were  to- 
gether degraded. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  here  on  that  disputed  point, 
the  origin  of  the  worship  of  the  Madonna.  Our  present  theme 
lies  within  prescribed  limits,  —  wide  enough,  however,  to 
embrace  an  immense  field  of  thought ;  it  seeks  to  trace  the  pro- 
gressive influence  of  that  worship  on  the  Fine  Arts  for  a 
thousand  years  or  more,  and  to  interpret  the  forms  in  which 
it  has  been  clothed.  That  the  veneration  paid  to  Mary  in  the 
early  Church  was  a  very  natural  feeling  in  those  who  advocated 
the  divinity  of  her  Son,  would  be  granted,  I  suppose,  by  all 
but  the  most  bigoted  reformers ;  that  it  led  to  unwise  and  wild 
extremes,  confounding  the  creature  with  the  Creator,  would  be 


INTRODUCTION  3 

admitted,  I  suppose,  by  all  but  the  most  bigoted  Eomau  Catho- 
lics. How  it  extended  from  the  East  over  the  nations  of  the 
"West,  how  it  grew  and  spread,  may  be  read  in  ecclesiastical 
histories.  Everywhere  it  seems  to  have  found  in  the  human 
heart  some  deep  sympathy  —  deeper  far  than  mere  theological 
doctrine  could  reach  —  ready  to  accept  it ;  and  in  every  land 
the  ground  prepared  for  it  in  some  already  dominant  idea  of  a 
mother-Goddess,  chast^Jbeautiful,  and  benign.  As,  in  the 
oldest  Hebrew  rites  and  pagan  superstitions,  men  traced  the 
promise  of  a  coming  Messiah, — as  the  deliverers  and  kings  of 
the  Old  Testament,  and  even  the  demigods  of  heathendom, 
became  accepted  types  of  the  person  of  Christ,  —  so  the  Eve 
of  the  Mosaic  history,  the  Astarte  of  the  Assyrians  — 

The  mooned  Ashtaroth,  queen  and  mother  both  — 
the  Isis  nursing  Horus  of  the  Egyptians,  the  Demeter  and  the 
Aphrodite  of  the  Greeks,  the  Scythian  Ereya,  have  been  con- 
sidered by  some  writers  as  types  of  a  divine  maternity,  fore- 
shadowing the  Virgin-mother  of  Christ.1  Others  will  have 
it  that  these  scattered,  dim,  mistaken  —  often  gross  and  per- 
verted —  ideas  which  were  afterwards  gathered  into  the  pure, 
dignified,  tender  image  of  the  Madonna,  were  but  as  the  voice 
of  a  mighty  prophecy,  sounded  through  all  the  generations  of 
men,  even  from  the  beginning  of  time,  of  the  coming  moral 
regeneration,  and  complete  and  harmonious  development  of  the 
whole  human  race,  by  the  establishment,  on  a  higher  basis,  of 
what  has  been  called  the  "  feminine  element  "  in  society.  And 
let  me  at  least  speak  for  myself.  In  the  perpetual  iteration  of 
that  beautiful  image  of  the  woman  highly  blessed  —  there, 
where  others  saw  only  pictures  or  statues,  I  have  seen  this 
great  hope  standing  like  a  spirit  beside  the  visible  form  ;  in 
the  fervent  worship  once  universally  given  to  that  gracious 
presence,  I  have  beheld  an  acknowledgment  of  a  higher  as  well 
as  gentler  power  than  that  of  the  strong  hand  and  the  might 
that  makes  the  right,  — and  in  every  earnest  votary,  one  who, 
as  he  knelt,  was  in  this  sense  pious  beyond  the  reach  of  his 
own  thought,  and  "devout  beyond  the  meaning  of  his  will." ? 
\\  is  curklis  to  observe,  as  the  worship  of  the  Virgin-mother 
expanded  and  gathered  to  itself  the  relics  of  many  an  ancient 

i  [Other  prototypes  of  the  "Great  Mother  "  are  the  Lady  Isani  of  the  Hindu; 
the  Cybeleof  Phrygia  and  the  Diss  of  the  North.  Vide  Henry  M.  Alden's 
God  in  His  World,  First  Book,  xxxiv.] 


4  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

faith,  how  the  new  and  the  old  elements,  some  of  them  apparr 
ently  the  most  heterogeneous^became  amalganiated,^andjw£re__ 
combined  into  the  early  forms  of  Art ;  how  the  Madonna^jyiifiiil 
sTie~~assumed  the  characteristics  of  the  great  Diana  of  Ephesus^ 
a]E~oncethe  type  of  Fertility  and  the  Goddess  of  Chastity, 
became,  as  the  impersonation  of  motherhood,  all  bea~uty,  bounty, 
RTffigrliriK"isnpgs  ;  ap'i  M-  the__game  time,  by  virtue  of  her  p_ej- 
petual  virginity,  the  patroness  of  single  and  ascetic  life  —  the 
example  and  the  excuse  for  many  of  the"wildest_j^_t.fiVearly 
monkish  theories.  With  Christiajiity-.-new-4deas-of--the-  moral 
and  religious  responsibility  of  woman  entered  the  world  ;  and 
while" these  ideas  were  yet  struggling  with  the  Hebrew  and 
classical  prejudices  concerning  the  whole  sex,  they  seem  to 
have  produced  some  curious  perplexity  in  the  minds  of  the 
greatest  doctors  of  the  faith.  Christ,  as  they  assure  us,  was 
born  of  a  woman  only,  and  had  no  earthl^yjatherj^that  neither 
sex  might  despair ;  "  for  had  he  been  born  a  maii^w4ueli_was 
necessary),  yet  not  born  of  wom^n^^th^wj^meii^might  have 
despaired  of  themselves,  recollecting  the  first  offence,  the  first 
man  having  been  deceived  by_a  woman.  Therefore  we  are  to 
suppose  that,  for  the  exaltation  of  the  male  sex,  Christ  appeared 
on  earth  as  a  man  ;  and,  for  the  consolation  of  womankind,  he 
was  born  of  a  woman  only  ;  as  if  it  had  been  said,  '  from  hence- 
forth no  creature  shall  be  base  before  God,  unless  perverted 
by  depravity.' "  (Augustine,  Opera  Supt.  238,  Serm.  63.) 
Such  is  the  reasoning  of  St.  Augustine,  who,  I  must  observe, 
had  an  especial  veneration  for  his  mother  Monica ;  and  it  is, 
perhaps,  for  her  sake  that  he  seems  here  desirous  to  prove  that 
through  the  Yirgin  Mary  all  womankind  were  henceforth  ele- 
vated in  the  scale  of  being.  And  this  was  the  idea  enter- 
tained of  her  subsequently  ;  "  ennobler  of  thy  nature  !  "  says 
Dante,  apostrophizing  her,  as  if  her  perfections  had  ennobled 
not  merely  her  own  sex,  but  the  whole  human  race.1 

I)Ut_alsg  with  Christianity  came  the  wnnt  of  a  new  type  of 
.womanly  perfection,  combining  all  the  attributes  of  the  ancient 
female  divini/ties_with  others  altogether  new.  Christ,  as  the 
morteTmlihTunTted  the  virtues  of  the  two  sexes,  till  the  idea  that 
there  are  essentially  masculine  and  feminine  virtues  intruded 
itself  on  the  higher  Christian  conception,  and  seems  to  have 
necessitated  the  female  type. 
1  "  Tu  se' colei  che  1'  umaiianaturaNobilitasti."    [Farad iso,  canto  xxxiii.  15.] 


INTRODUCTION  5 

The  first  historical  mention  of  a  direct  worship  paid  to  the 
Virgin  Mary  occurs  in  a  passage  in  the  works  of  St.  Epiphanius, 
who  died  in  403.  In  enumerating  the  heresies  (eighty-four  in 
number)  which  had  sprung  up  in  the  early  Church,  he  mentions 
a  sect  of  women  who  had  emigrated  from  Thrace  into  Arabia, 
with  whom  it  was  customary  to  offer  cakes  of  meal  and  honey 
to  the  Virgin  Mary,  as  if  she  had  been  a  divinity,  transferring 
to  her,  in  fact,  the  worship  paid  to  Ceres.  The  very  first 
instance  which  occurs  in  written  history  of  an  invocation  to 
Mary  is  in  the  life  of  St.  Justina,  as  related  by  Gregory  Nazi- 
anzen.  Justina  calls  on  the  Virgin-mother  to  protect  her  against 
the  seducer  and  sorcerer,  Cyprian  ;  and  does  not  call  in  vain. 
(See  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art.)  These  passages,  however,  do 
not  prove  that  previously  to  the  fourth  century  there  had  been 
no  worship  or  invocation  of  the  Virgin,  but  rather  the  contrary. 
However  this  may  be,  it  is  to  the  same  period  —  the  fourth  cen- 
tury —  we  refer  the  most  ancient  representations  of  the  Virgin 
in  Art.  The  earliest  figures  extant  are  those  on  the  Christian 
sarcophagi ;  but  neither  in  the  early  sculpture  nor  in  the 
mosaics  of  S.  Maria  Maggiore  do  we  find  any  figure  of  the  Vir- 
gin standing  alone ;  she  forms  part  of  a  group  of  the  Nativity 
or  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi.  There  is  no  attempt  at  indi- 
viduality or  portraiture.  St. f  Augustine  says  expressly,  that 
there  existed  in  his  time  no  authentic  portrait  of  the  Virgin ; 
but  it  is  inferred  from  his  account  that,  authentic  or  not,  such 
pictures  did  then  exist,  since  there  were  already  disputes  con- 
cerning their  authenticity.  There  were  at  this  period  received 
symbols  of  the  person  and  character  of  Christ,  as  the  lamb,  the 
vine,  the  fish,  etc.,  but  not,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  any  such 
accepted  symbols  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  Further,  it  is  the  opin- 
ion of  the  learned  in  ecclesiastical  antiquities'  that,  previous  to 
the  first  Council  of  Ephesus,  it  was  the  custom  to  represent  the 
figure  of  the  Virgin  alone  without  the  Child ;  but  that  none  of 
these  original  effigies  remain  to  us,  only  supposed  copies  of  a 
later  date.1 

It  has  long  been  a  disputed,  or  at  least  an  unsettled  and 
doubtful,  point,  as  to  whether  certain  figures  existing  on  the 
earliest  Christian  monuments  were  or  were  not  intended  to 
represent  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  Protestants,  on  the  one  hand, 
as  if  still    inspired   by  that  superstition  against  superstition 

1   Vide  Memvrie  dell'  Tmmagme  ill  1A.   V.  'It'll'  Impruneta.     Florence,  1714. 


& 


6  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

which  led  to  the  violent  and  vulgar  destruction  of  so  many 
beautiful  works  of  Art,  and  the  Catholics  on  the  other,  jealous 
to  maintain  the  authenticity  of  these  figures  as  a  testimony  to 
the  ancient  worship  of  the  Virgin,  both  appear  to  me  to  have 
taken  an  exaggerated  and  prejudiced  view  of  a  subject  which 
ought  to  be  considered  dispassionately  on  purely  antiquarian  and 
critical   grounds.      Having  had  the  opportunity,  during  a  late 
residence  in  Italy,  of  reconsidering  and  comparing  a  great  num- 
ber of   these   antique    representations,   and   having   heard   the 
opinions   of    antiquarians,    theologians,    and   artists,    who   had 
given  their  attention  to  the  subject,  and  who  occasionally  dif- 
fered  from   each  other   as  to   the  weight  of   evidence,  I  have 
arrived  at  the  conviction  that  some  of  these  effigies  represent 
the  Virgin  Mary,  and  others  do  not.     I  confess  I  do  not  be- 
lieve in  any  authentic  representation  of  the  Virgin  holding  the 
Divine  Child  older  than  the  sixth  century,  except  when  intro- 
duced into  the  groups  of  the  Nativity  and  the  Worship  of  the 
Magi.     Previous  to  the  Nestorian  controversy,  these  maternal 
effigies,  as  objects  of  devotion,  were,  I  still  believe,  unknown, 
but  I  cannot  understand  why  there  should  exist  among  Prot- 
estants so  strong  a  disposition  to  discredit  every  representation 
of  Mary  the  Mother  of  our  Lord  to  which  a  high  antiquity  had 
been  assigned  by  the  Eoman  Catholics.    'We  know  that  as 
early  as  the  second  century,  not  only  symbolical  figures  of  our 
Lord,  but  figures  of  certain  personages  of  holy  life,  as  St.  Peter 
and  St.   Paul,  Agnes  the  Eoman,  and  Euphemia   the  Greek, 
martyr,  did  certainly  exist.     The  critical  and  historical  testi- 
mony I  have  given  elsewhere  (Sacred  and  Legendary  Art). 
Why,  therefore,  should  there  not  have  existed  effigies  of  the 
Mother  of  Christ,  of  the   "  Woman  highly  blessed,"  the  sub- 
ject of  so  many  prophecies,  and  naturally  the  object  of  a  tender 
and  just  veneration  among  the  early  Christians  ?      It  seems  to 
me  that  nothing  could  be  more  likely,  and  that  such  represen- 
tations  ought   to   have    a  deep    interest  for  all  Christians,  no 
matter  of  what  denomination  —  for  all,  in  truth,  who  b'elieve 
that  the   Saviour  of  the  world  had  a  good   Mother,  his  only 
earthly  parent,   who  brought  him   forth,  nurtured   and   loved 
him.     That  it  should  be  considered  a  point  of  faith  with  Prot- 
estants  to  treat  such   memorials   with   incredulity,  and   even 
derision,  appears  to  me  most  inconsistent  and  unaccountable, 
though  I  confess  that  between  these  simple  primitive  memorials 


INTRODUCTION  7 

and  the  sumptuous  tasteless  column  and  image  recently  erected 
at  Rome  there  is  a  very  wide  margin  of  disputable  ground,  of 
which  I  shall  say  no  more  in  this  place.  But  to  return  to  the 
antique  conception  of  the  "  Donna  orante  "  or  so-called  Virgin- 
mother,  I  will  mention  here  only  the  most  remarkable  ex- 
amples ;  for  to  enter  fully  into  the  subject  would  occupy  a 
volume  in  itself. 

There  is  a  figure  often  met  with  in  the  Catacombs  and  on 
the  sarcophagi,  of  a  majestic  woman  standing  with  outspread 
arms  (the  ancient  attitude  of  prayer),  or  holding  a  book  or 
scroll  in  her  hand.  When  this  figure  stands  alone  and  unac- 
companied by  any  attribute,  I  think  the  signification  doubtful : 
but  in  the  catacomb  of  St.  Ciriaco  there  is  a  painted  figure  of 
a  woman,  with  arms  outspread  and  sustained  on  each  side  by 
figures,  evidently  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul ;  on  the  sarcophagi 
the  same  figure  frequently  occurs  ;  and  there  are  other  examples 
certainly  not  later  than  the  third  and  fourth  century.  That 
these  represent  Mary  the  Mother  of  Christ  I  have  not  the  least 
doubt ;  I  think  it  has  been  fully  demonstrated  that  no  other 
Christian  woman  could  have  been  so  represented,  considering 
the  manners  and  habits  of  the  Christian  community  at  that 
period.  Then  the  attitude  and  type  are  precisely  similar  to 
those  of  the  ancient  Byzantine  Madonnas  and  the  Italian  mo- 
saics of  Eastern  workmanship,  proving,  as  I  think,  that  there 
existed  a  common  traditional  original  for  this  figure,  the  idea 
of  which  has  been  preserved  and  transmitted  in  these  early 
copies. 

Further,  there  exist  in  the  Roman  museums  many  frag- 
ments of  ancient  glass  found  in  the  Christian  tombs,  on  which 
are  rudely  pictured  in  colors  figures  exactly  similar,  and  having 
the  name  MARIA  inscribed  above  them.  On  one  of  these  frag- 
ments I  found  the  same  female  figure  between  two  male  figures, 
with  flu;  names  inscribed  over  them,  MARIA.  PETRVS. 
PAVLVS.,  generally  in  the  rudest  and  most  imperfect  style, 
as  if  issuing  from  some  coarse  manufacture,  but  showing  that 
they  have  had  a  common  origin  witli  those  far  superior  figures 
in  the  Catacombs  and  on  the  sarcophagi,  while  the  inscribed 
names  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  significance. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  similar  fragments  of  coarse 
glass  found  in  the  Catacombs  —  either  lamps  or  small  vases, 
bearing  the  same  female  in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  and  super- 


8 


LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 


scribed  in  rude  letters,  "Dulcts  anima  pie  Zeses  vivas." 
(Zeses  instead  of  Jesus.)  Such  may  possibly  represent,  not 
the  Virgin  Mary,  but  the  Christian  matron  or  martyr  buried 
in  the  tomb ;   at  least,  I  consider  them  as  doubtful. 

The  Cavaliere  Rossi,  whose  celebrity  as  an  antiquary  is  not 
merely  Italian,  but  European,  and  whose  impartiality  can 
hardly  be  doubted,  told  me  that  a  Christian  sarcophagus  had 
lately  been  discovered  at  Saint-Maxime,  in  the  South  of  France, 
on  which  there  is  the  same  group  of  the  female  figure,  praying, 
and  over  it  the  name  MARIA. 

I  ought  to  add,  that  on  one  of  these  sarcophagi,  bearing  the 
oft-repeated  subject  of  the  Good  Shepherd  feeding  his  sheep, 

I  found,  as  the  companion  group, 
a  female  figure  in  the  act  of  feed- 
ing birds,  which  are  fluttering  to 
her  feet.  It  is  not  doubted  that 
the  Good  Shepherd  is  the  sym- 
bol of  the  beneficent  Christ  ; 
whether  the  female  figure  repre- 
sents the  Virgin-mother,  or  is  to 
be  regarded  merely  as  a  general 
symbol,  of  female  beneficence, 
placed  on  a  par  with  that  of 
Christ  (in  his  human  character), 
I  will  not  pretend  to  decide.  It 
is  equally  touching  and  beautiful 
in  either  significance. 

I     [give     two]    examples    of 
these  figures. 

The  [first]  example  is  from  a 
sarcophagus.  It  is  a  figure  holding  a  scroll  of  the  gospel,  and 
standing  between  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul :  on  each  side  (in  the 
original)  there  are  groups  expressing  the  beneficent  miracles 
of  our  Lord.  This  figure,  I  believe,  represents  the  Virgin 
Mary. 

The  [second]  example  [shows]  the  manner  in  which  this 
conspicuous  female  figure  is  combined  with  the  series  of  groups 
on  each  side.  She  stands  with  hands  outspread,  in  the  atti- 
tude of  prayer,  between  the  two  apostles,  who  seem  to  sustain 
her  arms.  On  one  side  is  the  miracle  of  the  water  changed  into 
wine  :  on  the  other  side,  Christ  healing  the  woman  who  touched 


Bas-relief  (early  Christian  sarco- 
phagus) 


INTRODUCTION  9 

his  garment ;  both  of  perpetual  recurrence  in  these  sculptures. 
Of  these  groups  of  the  miracles  and  actions  of  Christ  on  the 
early  Christian  sarcophagi.  1  shall  give  a  full  account  in  the 
"  History  of  our  Lord,  as  illustrated  in  the  Fine  Arts ;  "  at 
present  I  confine  myself  to  the  female  figure  which  takes  this 


Bas-relief  (early  Christian  sarcophagus ; 

conspicuous  place,  while  other  female  figures  are  prostrate,  or 
of  a  diminutive  size,  to  express  their  humility  or  inferiority  ; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  thus  situated  it  is  intended  to  repre- 
sent the  woman  who  was  highly  honored  as  well  as  highly 
blessed  —  the  Mother  of  our  Saviour. 

I  have  come,  therefore,  to  the  conclusion,  that  while  many 
of  these  figures  have  a  certain  significance,  others  are  uncer- 
tain. "Where  the  figure  is  isolated,  or  placed  within  a  frame 
or  border,  like  the  memorial  busts  and  effigies  on  the  pagan 
sarcophagi,  1  think  it  may  be  regarded  as  probably  commemorat- 
ing the  Christian  martyr  or  matron  entombed  in  the  sarcopha- 
gus; but  when  there  is  no  division,  where  the  figure  forms 
part  of  a  continuous  series  of  groups,  expressing  the  character 
and  miracles  of  Christ,  I  believe  that  it  represents  his  mother. 

The  condemnation  of  Xestorius  by  the  Council  of  Ephesus, 
in  the  year  431,  forms  a  most  important  epoch  in  the  history 


10  LEGENDS  OF   THE   MADONNA 

of  religious  Art.  I  have  given  farther  on  a  sketch  of  this 
celebrated  schism,  and  its  immediate  and  progressive  results. 
It  may  be  thus  summed  up  here.  The  Nestorians  maintained, 
that  in  Christ  the  two  natures  of  God  and  man  remained  sep- 
arate, and  that  Mary,  his  human  mother,  was  parent  of  the 
man,  but  not  of  the  God  ;  consequently  the  title  which,  during 
the  previous  century,  had  been  popularly  applied  to  her, 
"  Theotokos "  (Mother  of  God),  was  improper  and  profane. 
The  party  opposed  to  Nestorius,  the  Monophysites,  maintained 
that  in  Christ  the  divine  and  human  were  blended  in  one  in- 
carnate nature,  and  that  consequently  Mary  was  indeed  the 
Mother  of  God.  By  the  decree  of  the  first  Council  of  Ephesus, 
Xestorius  and  his  party  were  condemned  as  heretics ;  and 
henceforth  the  representation  of  that  beautiful  group,  since 
popularly  known  as  the  "  Madonna  and  Child,"  became  the 
expression  of  the  orthodox  faith.  Every  one  who  wished  to 
prove  his  hatred  of  the  arch-heretic  exhibited  the  image  of  the 
maternal  Virgin  holding  in  her  arms  the  Infant  Godhead, 
either  in  his  house  as  a  picture,  or  embroidered  on  his  gar- 
ments, or  on  his  furniture,  on  his  personal  ornaments  —  in 
short,  wherever  it  could  be  introduced.  It  is  worth  remark- 
ing that  Cyril,  who  was  so  influential  in  fixing  the  orthodox 
group,  had  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  Egypt,  and 
must  have  been  familiar  with  the  Egyptian  type  of  Isis  nurs- 
ing Horns.  Nor,  as  I  conceive,  is  there  any  irreverence  in 
supposing  that  a  time-honored  intelligible  symbol  should  be 
chosen  to  embody  and  formalize  a  creed.  For  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  group  of  the  Mother  and  Child  was  not  at  first 
a  representation,  but  merely  a  theological  symbol  set  up  in  the 
orthodox  churches,  and  adopted  by  the  orthodox  Christians. 

It  is  just  after  the  Council  of  Ephesus  that  history  first 
makes  mention  of  a  supposed  authentic  portrait  of  the  Virgin 
Mary.  The  Empress  Eudocia,  when  travelling  in  the  Holy 
Land,  sent  home  such  a  picture  of  the  Virgin  holding  the  Child 
to  her  sister-in-law.  Pulcheria,  who  placed  it  in  a  church  at 
Constantinople.  It  was  at  that  time  regarded  as  of  very  high 
antiquity,  and  supposed  to  have  been  painted  from  the  life. 
It  is  certain  that  a  picture  traditionally  said  to  be  the  same  which 
Eudocia  had  sent  to  Pulcheria  did  exist  at  Constantinople,  and 
was  so  much  venerated  by  the  people  as  to  be  regarded  as  a 
sort  of  Palladium,  and  borne  in  a  superb  litter  or  car  in  the 


INTRODUCTION  11 

midst  of  the  imperial  host  when  the  emperor  led  the  army 
in  person.  The  fate  of  this  relic  is  not  certainly  known.  It 
is  said  to  have  been  taken  by  the  Turks  in  1453,.  and  dragged 
through  the  mire  ;  but  others  deny  this  as  utterly  derogatory 
to  the  majesty  of  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  who  never  would  have 
suffered  such  an  indignity  to  have  been  put  on  her  sacred 
image.  According  to  the  Venetian  legend,  it  was  this  iden- 
tical effigy  which  was  taken  by  the  blind  old  Dandolo,  when 
he  besieged  and  took  Constantinople  in  1204,  and  brought  in 
triumph  to  Venice,  where  it  has  ever  since  been  preserved  in 
the  church  of  St.  Mark  and  held  in  somma  venerazione.  No 
mention  is  made  of  St.  Luke  in  the  earliest  account  of  this 
picture,  though,  like  all  the  antique  effigies  of  uncertain  origin, 
it  was  in  after  times  attributed  to  him. 

The  history  of  the  next  three  hundred  years  testifies  to  the 
triumph  of  orthodoxy,  the  extension  and  popularity  of  the 
worship  of  the  Virgin,  and  the  consequent  multiplication  of 
her  image,  in  every  form  and  material,  through  the  whole  of 
Christendom. 

Then  followed  the  schism  of  the  Iconoclasts,  which  dis- 
tracted the  Church  for  more  than  one  hundred  years,  under 
Leo  III.,  the  Isaurian,  and  his  immediate  successors.  Such 
were  the  extravagances  of  superstition  to  which  the  image- 
worship  had  led  the  excitable  Orientals,  that,  if  Leo  had  been 
a  wise  and  temperate  reformer,  he  might  have  done  much  good 
in  checking  its  excesses ;  but  he  was  himself  an  ignorant,  mer- 
ciless barbarian.  The  persecution  by  which  he  sought  to 
exterminate  the  sacred  pictures  of  the  Madonna,  and  the 
cruelties  exercised  on  her  unhappy  votaries,  produced  a  gen- 
eral destruction  of  the  most  curious  and  precious  remains  of 
antique  Art.  In  other  respects,  the  immediate  result  was 
naturally  enough  a  reaction,  which  not  only  reinstated  pictures 
in  the  veneration  of  the  people,  but  greatly  increased  their 
influence  over  the  imagination ;  for  it  is  at  this  time  that  we 
first  hear  of  a  miraculous  picture.  Among  those  who  most 
strongly  defended  the  use  of  sacred  images  in  the  churches  was 
St.  John  Damascene,  one  of  the  great  lights  of  the  Oriental 
Church.  According  to  the  Greek  legend,  he  was  condemned 
to  lose  his  right  hand,  which  was  accordingly  cut  off;  but  h«', 
full  of  faith,  prostrating  himself  before  a  picture  of  the  Virgin, 
stretched    out    the    bleeding  stump,   and   with    it   touched  her 


12  LEGENDS   OF   THE    MADONNA 

lips,  and  immediately  a  new  hand  sprung  forth  "  like  a  branch 
from  a  tree."  Hence,  among  the  Greek  effigies  of  the  Virgin, 
there  is  one,  peculiarly  commemorative  of  this  miracle,  styled 
"the  Virgin  with  three  hands."  (Didron,  Christian  Iconogra- 
phy, vol.  ii.  p.  397.)  In  the  west  of  Europe,  where  the  abuses 
of  the  image-worship  had  never  yet  reached  the  wild  super- 
stition of  the  Oriental  Christians,  the  fury  of  the  Iconoclasts 
excited  horror  and  consternation.  The  temperate  and  eloquent 
apology  for  sacred  pictures,  addressed  by  Gregory  II.  to  the 
Emperor  Leo,  had  the  effect  of  mitigating  the  persecution  in 
Italy,  where  the  work  of  destruction  could  not  be  carried  out 
to  the  same  extent  as  in  the  Byzantine  provinces.  Hence 
it  is  in  Italy  only  that  any  important  remains  of  sacred  Art 
anterior  to  the  Iconoclast  dynasty  have  been  preserved.1 

The  second  Council  of  Nice,  under  the  Empress  Irene,  in 
787  condemned  the  Iconoclasts,  and  restored  the  use  of  the 
sacred  pictures  in  the  churches.  Nevertheless,  the  controversy 
still  raged  till  after  the  death  of  Theophilus,  the  last  and  the 
most  cruel  of  the  Iconoclasts,  in  842.  His  widow  Theodora 
achieved  the  final  triumph  of  the  orthodox  party,  and  restored 
the  Virgin  to  her  throne.  We  must  ohserve,  however,  that 
only  pictures  were  allowed  ;  all  sculptured  imagery  was  still 
prohibited,  and  has  never  since  been  allowed  in  the  Greek 
Church,  except  in  very  low  relief.  The  flatter  the  surface,  the 
more  orthodox. 

It  is,  I  think,  about  886  that  we  first  find  the  effigy  of  the 
Virgin  on  the  coins  of  the  Greek  empire.  On  a  gold  coin  of 
Leo  VI.,  the  Philosopher,  she  stands  veiled,  and  draped,  with 
a  noble  head,  no  glory,  and  the  arms  outspread,  just  as  she  ap- 
pears in  the  old  mosaics.  On  a  coin  of  Romanus  the  Vounger, 
she  crowns  the  emperor,  having  herself  the  nimbus ;  she  is 
draped  and  veiled.  On  a  coin  of  Nicephorus  Phocus  (who 
had  great  pretensions  to  piety),  the  Virgin  stands,  presenting 
a  cross  to  the  emperor,  with  the  inscription,  "  Theotokos,  be 
propitious."  On  a  gold  coin  of  John  Zimisces,  975,  we  first 
find  the  Virgin  and   Child,  —  the   symbol   merely :   she   holds 

1  It  appears,  from  one  of  these  letters  from  Gregory  II.,  Hint  it  was  the  cus- 
tom at  that  time  (725)  to  employ  religious  pictures  as  a  means  of  instruction  in 
the  schools.  He  savs,  that  if  Leo  were  to  enter  a  school  in  Italy,  and  to  sav  that 
he  prohibited  pictures,  the  children  would  infallibly  throw  their  horn-books 
(tavolezze  del  alfabeto)  at  his  head.     Vide  Bosio,  p.  567. 


INTRODUCTION  13 

against  her  bosom  a  circular  glory,  within  which  is  the  head 
of  the  Infant  Christ.  In  the  successive  reigns  of  the  next 
two  centuries  she  almost  constantly  appears  as  crowning  the 
emperor. 

Returning  to  the  West,  we  find  that  in  the  succeeding  period, 
from  Charlemagne  to  the  first  crusade,  the  popular  devotion  to 
the  Virgin,  and  the  multiplication  of  sacred  pictures,  continued 
steadily  to  increase ;  yet  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries 
Art  was  at  its  lowest  ebb.  At  this  time  the  subjects  relative 
to  the  Virgin  wen;  principally  the  Madonna  and  Child,  rep- 
resented according  to  the  Greek  form,  and  those  scenes  from 
the  Gospel  in  which  she  is  introduced,  as  the  Annunciation, 
the  Nativity,  and  the  Worship  of  the  Magi. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  tenth  century  the  custom  of  adding 
the  angelic  salutation,  the  Ave  Maria,  to  the  Lord's  prayer, 
was  first  introduced ;  and  by  the  end  of  the  following  century 
it  had  been  adopted  in  the  offices  of  the  Church.  This  was,  at 
first,  intended  as  a  perpetual  reminder  of  the  mystery  of  the 
Incarnation,  as  announced  by  the  angel.  It  must  have  had 
the  effect  of  keeping  the  idea  of  Mary  as  united  with  that  of 
her  Son,  and  as  the  instrument  of  the  Incarnation,  continually 
in  the  minds  of  the  people. 

The  pilgrimages  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  the  crusades  in  tha 
eleventh  and  the  twelfth  centuries,  had  a  most  striking  effect 
on  religious  Art,  though  this  effect  was  not  fully  evolved  till  a 
century  later.  More  particularly  did  this  returning  wave  of 
Oriental  influences  modify  the  representations  of  the  Virgin. 
Fragments  of  the  apocryphal  gospels  and  legends  of  Palestine 
and  Egypt  were  now  introduced,  worked  up  into  ballads, 
stories,  and  dramas,  and  gradually  incorporated  with  the 
teaching  of  the  Church.  A  great  variety  of  subjects  derived 
from  the  Greek  artists,  and  from  particular  localities  and  tra- 
ditions of  the  East,  became  naturalized  in  Western  Europe. 
Among  these  were  the  legends  of  Joachim  and  Anna;  and  the 
death,  the  assumption,  and  the  coronation  of  the  Virgin. 

Then  came  the  thirteenth  century,  an  era  notable  in  the  his- 
tory of  mind,  more  especially  notable  in  the  history  of  Art. 
The  seed  scattered  hither  and  thither,  during  the  stormy  and 
warlike  period  of  the  crusades,  now  sprung  up  and  flourished, 
bearing  diverse  fruit.  A  more  contemplative  enthusiasm,  a  su- 
perstition tinged  with  a  morbid  melancholy,  fermented  into  life 


14  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

and  form.  In  that  general  "  fit  of  compunction"  which  we 
are  told  seized  all  Italy  at  this  time,  the  passionate  devotion 
for  the  benign  Madonna  mingled  the  poetry  of  pity  with  that 
of  pain  ;  and  assuredly  this  state  of  feeling,  with  its  mental 
and  moral  requirements,  must  have  assisted  in  emancipating 
Art  from  the  rigid  formalism  of  the  degenerate  Greek  school. 
Men's  hearts,  throbbing  with  a  more  feeling,  more  pensive 
life,  demanded  something  more  like  life  —  and  produced  it. 
It  is  curious  to  trace  in  the  Madonnas  of  contemporary,  but  far 
distant  and  unconnected  schools  of  painting,  the  simultaneous 
dawning  of  a  sympathetic  sentiment  —  for  the  first  time  some- 
thing in  the  faces  of  the  divine  beings  responsive  to  the  feel- 
ing of  the  worshippers.  It  was  this,  perhaps,  which  caused 
the  enthusiasm  excited  by  Cimabue's  great  Madonna  [Rucel- 
lai  chapel,  Santa  Maria  Novella,  Florence],  and  made  the  peo- 
ple shout  and  dance  for  joy  when  it  was  uncovered  before  them. 
Compared  with  the  spectral  rigidity,  the  hard  monotony, 
of  the  conventional  Byzantines,  the  more  animated  eyes, 
the  little  touch  of  sweetness  in  the  still,  mild  face,  must  have 
been  like  a  smile  out  of  heaven.  As  we  trace  the  same  softer 
influence  in  the  earliest  Siena  and  Cologne  pictures  of  about 
the  same  period,  we  may  fairly  regard  it  as  an  impress  of  the 
spirit  of  the  time,  rather  than  that  of  an  individual  mind. 

In  the  succeeding  century  these  elements  of  poetic  Art,  ex- 
panded and  animated  by  an  awakened  observation  of  nature, 
and  a  sympathy  with  her  external  manifestations,  were  most 
especially  directed  by  the  increasing  influence  of  the  worship 
of  the  Virgin,  a  worship  at  once  religious  and  chivalrous. 
The  title  of  "  Our  Lady  "  l  came  first  into  general  use  in  the 
days  of  chivalry,  for  she  was  the  lady  "  of  all  hearts,"  whose 
colors  all  were  proud  to  wear.  Never  had  her  votaries  so 
abounded.  Hundreds  upon  hundreds  had  enrolled  themselves 
in  brotherhoods,  vowed  to  her  especial  service;2  or  devoted 
to  acts  of  charity,  to  be  performed  in  her  name.3  Already  the 
great  religious  communities,  which  at  this  time  comprehended 
all  the  enthusiasm,  learning,  and  influence  of  the  Church,  had 
placed  themselves  solemnly  and  especially  under  her  protec- 

i  Fr.  Notre  Dame.     Ital.  La  Madonna.     Ger.  Unser  liebe  Frau. 

2  As  the  Serviti,  who  were  called  in  France,  lesesclaves  de  Marie. 

3  As  the  order  of  "  Our  Lady  of  Mercy,''  for  the  deliverance  of  captives. — 
Vide  Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders. 


INTRODUCTION  10 

tion.  The  Cistercians  wore  white  in  honor  of  her  purity  ;  the 
Servi  wore  black  in  respect  to  her  sorrows  ;  the  Franciscans 
had  enrolled  themselves  as  champions  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception ;  and  the  Dominicans  introduced  the  rosary.  All  these 
richly  endowed  communities  vied  witli  each  other  in  multiply, 
ing  churches,  chapels,  and  pictures,  in  honor  of  their  patroness, 
and  expressive  of  her  several  attributes.  The  devout  painter, 
kneeling  before  his  easel,  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  por- 
traying those  heavenly  lineaments  which  had  visited  him  per- 
haps in  dreams.  Many  of  the  professed  monks  and  friars 
became  themselves  accomplished  artists.1 

At  this  time  Jacopo  di  Voragine  compiled  the  "  Golden 
Legend,"  a  collection  of  sacred  stories,  some  already  current, 
some  new,  or  in  a  new  form.  This  famous  book  added  many 
themes  to  those  already  admitted,  and  became  the  authority 
and  storehouse  for  the  early  painters  in  their  groups  and  dra- 
matic compositions.  The  increasing  enthusiasm  for  the  Virgin 
naturally  caused  an  increasing  demand  for  the  subjects  taken 
from  her  personal  history,  and  led,  consequently,  to  a  more 
exact  study  of  those  natural  objects  and  effects  which  were 
required  as  accessories,  to  greater  skill  in  grouping  the  figures, 
and  to  a  higher  development  of  historic  Art. 

But  of  all  the  influences  on  Italian  Art  in  that  wonderful 
fourteenth  century,  Dante  was  the  greatest.  He  was  the  inti- 
mate friend  of  Giotto.  Through  the  communion  of  mind,  not 
less  than  through  his  writings,  he  infused  into  religious  Art 
that  mingled  theology,  poetry,  and  mysticism  which  ruled  in 
the  Giottesque  school  during  the  following  century,  and  went 
hand  in  hand  with  the  development  of  the  power  and  practice 
of  imitation.  Now  the  theology  of  Dante  was  the  theology 
of  his  age.  His  ideas  respecting  the  Virgin  Mary  were  pre- 
cisely those  to  which  the  writings  of  St.  Bernard,  St.  Bona- 
ventura,  and  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  had  already  lent  all  the 
persuasive  power  of  eloquence,  and  the  Church  all  the  weight 
of  her  authority.  Dante  rendered  these  doctrines  into  poetry, 
and  Giotto  and  his  followers  rendered  them  into  form.      In  the 

l  A  very  curious  and  startling  example  of  the  theological  character  of  the  Vir- 
gin in  the  thirteenth  century  i^  figured  in  Miss  Twining's  work,  The  Symbols  of 
Early  Chrulian  <m<l  Mediaeval  Art ;  certainly  the  most  complete  and  useful 
hook  of  the  kind  which  I  know  of.  Here  the  Madonna  and  Child  are  seated 
Bide  by  side  with  the  Trinity,  the  Holy  Spirit  resting  on  her  crowned  neaci. 
Page  76,  plate  83. 


16  LEGENDS   OF  THE   MADONNA 

Paradiso  of  Dante,  the  glorification  of  Mary,  as  the  "  Mystic 
Rose"  (Bosa  mystica)  and  Queen  of  Heaven  —  with  the 
attendant  angels,  circle  within  circle,  floating  round  her  in 
adoration,  and  singing  the  Regina  Cceli,  and  saints  and  patri- 
archs stretching  forth  their  hands  towards  her  —  is  all  a 
splendid  but  still  indefinite  vision  of  dazzling  light  crossed 
by  shadowy  forms.  The  painters  of  the  fourteenth  century,  in 
translating  these  glories  into  a  definite  shape,  had  to  deal  with 
imperfect  knowledge  and  imperfect  means ;  they  failed  in  the 
power  to  realize  either  their  own  or  the  poet's  conception ; 
and  yet  —  thanks  to  the  divine  poet !  —  that  early  conception 
of  some  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  Madonna  subjects  —  for 
instance,  the  Coronation  and  the  Sposalizio — has  never,  as 
a  religious  and  poetical  conception,  been  surpassed  by  later 
artists,  in  spite  of  all  the  appliances  of  color,  and  mastery  of 
light  and  shade,  and  marvellous  efficiency  of  hand  since 
attained. 

Every  reader  of  Dante  will  remember  the  sublime  hymn 
towards  the  close  of  the  Paradiso  [canto  xxxiii.]  :  — 

Vergine  Madre,  figlia  del  tuo  figlio  ! 
Umile  ed  alta  piii  che  creatura, 
Termine  fisso  d'  eterno  consiglio; 

Tu  se'  colei  che  1'  umana  natura 
Nobilitasti  s\,  che  '1  suo  fattore 
Nmi  disdegno  di  farsi  sua  fattura; 

Nel  ventre  tuo  si  raccese  1'  amore 
Per  lo  cui  caldo  rtell'  eterna  pace 
Cosi  e  germinato  questo  fiore; 

Qui  se'  a  noi  meridiaua  face 
Di  caritade,  e  giuso  intra  mortali 
Se'  di  speranza  fontana  vivace  : 
Donna  se'  tanto  grande  e  tanto  vali, 
Che  qual  vuol  grazia  e  a  te  non  ricorre 
Sua  disianza  vuol  volar  senz'  ali; 

La  tua  benignita  non  pur  soccorre 
A  chi  dimanda,  ma  molte  tiate 
Liberamente  all  dimandar  precorre; 
In  re  misericordia,  in  te  pietate, 
In  te  magnificenza,  in  te  s'  ad  una 
Quantunque  in  creatura  e  di  bontate! 

To  render  the  splendor,  the  terseness,  the  harmony  of  this 
magnificenl  hymn,  seems  impossible.  Cary's  translation  has, 
however,  the  merit  of  fidelity  to  the  sense:  — 


INTRODUCTION  17 

0  Virgin-mother,  daughter  of  thy  Son  ! 
Created  beings  all  in  lowliness 
Surpassing,  as  in  height  above  them  all; 
Term  by  the  eternal  counsel  preordained; 
Ennobler  of  thy  nature,  so  advanc'd 
In  thee,  that  its  great  Maker  did  not  scorn 
To  make  himself  his  own  creation; 
For  in  thy  womb,  rekindling,  shone  the  love 
Reveal'd,  whose  genial  influence  makes  now 
This  flower  to  germ  in  in  eternal  peace: 
Here  thou,  to  us,  of  charity  and  love 
Art  as  the  noon-day  torch  ;  and  art  beneath, 
To  mortal  men,  of  hope  a  living  spring. 
So  mighty  art  thou,  Lady,  and  so  great, 
That  he  who  grace  desireth,  and  comes  not 
To  thee  for  aidance,  fain  would  have  desire 
Fly  without  wings.     Not  only  him  who  asks, 
Thy  bounty  succors;  but  doth  freely  oft 
Forerun  the  asking.     Whatsoe'er  may  be 
Of  excellence  in  creature,  pity  mild, 
Relenting  mercy,  large  muniticence, 
Are  all  combiu'd  in  thee  ! 

It  is  interesting  to  turn  to  the  corresponding  stanzas  in 
Chaucer.  The  invocation  to  the  Virgin  with  which  he  com- 
mences the  story  of  St.  Cecilia  is  rendered  almost  word  for 
word  from  Dante  :  — 

Thou  Maid  and  Mother,  daughter  of  thy  Son  ! 
Thou  wel  of  mercy,  sinful  soules  cure ! 

The  last  stanza  of  the  invocation  is  his  own,  and  as  character- 
istic of  the  practical  Chaucer  as  it  would  have  been  contrary 
to  the  genius  of  Dante  :  — 

And  for  that  faith  is  dead  withouten  workis, 
So  for  to  worken  give  me  wit  and  grace! 
That  I  be  quit  from  thence  that  most  dark  is; 
O  thou  that  art  so  fair  and  full  of  grace, 
Be  thou  mine  advocate  in  that  high  place, 
There,  as  withouten  end  is  sung  Ilozanne, 
Thou  Christes  mother,  daughter  dear  of  Anne! 

Still  more  beautiful  and  more  his  own  is  the  invocation  in  the 
"  Prioress's  Tale."  I  give  the  stanzas  as  modernized  by  Words- 
worth :  — 

O  Mother  M.i id  !  O  Maid  ami  Mother  free! 
(»  l>ii~~li  unburnt,  burning  in  Mom-'  Right! 

Thai  down  didsl  ravish  fr the  Deity, 

Through  humbleness,  the  Spirit  that  did  alight 


18  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

Upon  thy  heart,  whence,  through  that  glory's  might 
Conceived  was  the  Father's  sapience, 
Help  me  to  tell  it  in  thy  reverence ! 

Lady,  thy  goodness,  thy  magnificence, 

Thy  virtue,  and  thy  great  humility, 

Surpass  all  science  and  all  utterance  ; 

For  sometimes,  Lady !  ere  men  pray  to  thee, 

Thou  go'st  before  in  thy  benignity, 

The  light  to  us  vouchsafing  of  thy  prayer, 

To  be  our  guide  unto  thy  Son  so  dear. 

My  knowledge  is  so  weak,  0  blissful  Queen, 
To  tell  abroad  thy  mighty  worthiness, 
That  I  the  weight  of  it  may  not  sustain; 
But  as  a  child  of  twelve  months  old,  or  less, 
That  laboreth  his  language  to  express, 
Even  so  fare  I;  and  therefore,  I  thee  pray, 
Guide  thou  my  song,  which  I  of  thee  shall  say. 

And  again,  we  may  turn  to  Petrarch's  hymn  to  the  Virgin, 
wherein  he  prays  to  be  delivered  from  his  love  and  everlasting 
regrets  for  Laura  :  — 

Vergine  bella,  che  di  sol  vestita, 
Coronata  di  sfelle,  al  somnio  Sole 
Piacesti  si,  che  'n  te  sua  luce  ascose. 


Vergine  pura,  d'  ogni  parte  intera, 
Del  tuo  parto  gentil  figliuola  e  madre! 


Vergine  sola  al  inondo  senza  esempio, 
Che  '1  ciel  di  tue  bellezze  innamorasti.1 

The  fancy  of  the  theologians  of  the  middle  ages  played 
rather  dangerously,  as  it  appears  to  me,  for  the  uninitiated  and 
uninstructed,  with  the  perplexity  of  these  divine  relationships. 
It  is  impossible  not  to  feel  that  in  their  admiration  for  the 
divine  beauty  of  Mary,  in  borrowing  the  amatory  language  and 

1  [Beautiful  Virgin!  clothed  with  the  sun, 
CrownM  with  the  stars  ;  who  so  the  Eternal  Sun 
Well  pleasedst  that  in  thine  His  light  He  hid. 


O  Virgin  !  pure  and  perfect  in  each  part, 
Maiden  or  Mother. 


Virgin!  of  all  unparallePd.  alone, 

Who  with  thy  beauties  hast  enamored  Heaven. 

The  Sonnets.  Triumphs,  and  other  Poems  of  Petrarch,  translated  into  Eng- 
lish Verse  by   Various  Hands.      Bohn,  1859.] 


INTRODUCTION  19 

luxuriant  allegories  of  the  Canticles,  which  represent  her  as  an 
object  of  delight  to  the  supreme  Being,  theologians,  poets,  and 
artists  had  wrought  themselves  up  to  a  wild  pitch  of  enthusi- 
asm. In  such  passages  as  those  I  have  quoted  above,  and  in 
the  grand  old  Church  hymns,  we  find  the  best  commentary  ami 
interpretation  of  the  sacred  pictures  of  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries.  Yet  during  the  thirteenth  century  there 
was  a  purity  in  the  spirit  of  the  worship  which  at  once  inspired 
and  regulated  the  forms  in  which  it  was  manifested.  The  An- 
nunciations and  Nativities  were  still  distinguished  by  a  chaste 
and  sacred  simplicity.  The  features  of  the  Madonna  herself, 
even  where  they  were  not  what  we  call  beautiful,  had  yet  a 
touch  of  that  divine  and  contemplative  grace  which  the  theo- 
logians and  the  poets  had  associated  with  the  queenly,  mater- 
nal, and  bridal  character  of   Mary. 

Thus  the  impulses  given  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth 
century  continued  in  progressive  development  through  the 
fifteenth ;  the  spiritual  for  some  time  in  advance  of  the  ma- 
terial influences  ;  the  moral  idea  emanating  as  it  were  from  the 
soul,  and  the  influences  of  external  nature  flowing  into  it ;  the 
comprehensive  power  of  fancy  using  more  and  more  the  appre- 
hensive power  of  imitation,  and  both  working  together  till 
their  "  blended  might  "  achieved  its  full  fruition  in  the  works 
of  Raphael. 

Early  in  the  fifteenth  century,  the  Council  of  Constance 
(a.  d.  1414)  and  the  condemnation  of  Huss  gave  a  new  im- 
pulse to  the  worship  of  the  Virgin.  The  Hussite  wars,  and 
the  sacrilegious  indignity  with  which  her  sacred  images  had 
been  treated  in  the  north,  filled  her  orthodox  votaries  of  the 
south  of  Europe  with  a  consternation  and  horror  like  that  ex- 
cited by  the  Iconoclasts  of  the  eighth  century,  and  were  fol- 
lowed by  a  similar  reaction.  The  Church  was  called  upon  to 
assert  more  strongly  than  ever  its  orthodox  veneration  for  her, 
and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  votive  pictures  multiplied  ;  the 
works  of  the  excelling  artists  of  the  fifteenth  century  testify 
to  the  zeal  of  the  votaries  and  the  kindred  spirit  in  which  the 
painters  worked. 

Gerson,  a  celebrated  French  priest,  and  chancellor  of  the 
university  of  Paris,  distinguished  himself  in  the  Council  <>f 
Constance  by  the  eloquence  with  which  he  pleaded  for  the  Im- 


20  LEGENDS   OF  THE   MADONNA 

maculate  Conception,  and  the  enthusiasm,  with  which  he 
preached,  in  favor  of  instituting  a  festival  in  honor  of  this 
mystery,  as  well  as  another  in  honor  of  Joseph,  the  hushand 
of  the  Virgin.  In  both  he  was  unsuccessful  during  his  life- 
time ;  but  for  both  eventually  his  writings  prepared  the  way. 
He  also  composed  a  Latin  poem  of  three  thousand  lines  in 
praise  of  Joseph,  which  was  among  the  first  works  published 
after  the  invention  of  printing.  Together  with  St.  Joseph, 
the  parents  of  the  Virgin,  St.  Anna  more  particularly,  became 
objects  of  popular  veneration,  and  all  were  at  length  exalted 
to  the  rank  of  patron  saints,  by  having  festivals  instituted  in 
their  honor.  It  is  towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
or  rather  a  little  later,  that  we  first  meet  with  that  charming 
domestic  group  called  the  "  Holy  Family,"  afterwards  so  pop- 
ular, so  widely  diffused,  and  treated  with  such  an  infinite 
variety. 

Towards  the  end  of  this  century  sprung  up  a  new  influence 
—  the  revival  of  classical  learning,  a  passionate  enthusiasm  for 
the  poetry  and  mythology  of  the  Greeks,  and  a  taste  for  the 
remains  of  antique  Art.  This  influence  on  the  representations 
of  the  Virgin,  as  far  as  it  was  merely  external,  was  good.  An 
added  dignity  and  grace,  a  more  free  and  correct  drawing,  a 
truer  feeling  for  harmony  of  proportion  and  all  that  consti- 
tutes elegance,  were  gradually  infused  into  the  forms  and  at- 
titudes. But  dangerous  became  the  craving  for  mere  beauty  — 
dangerous  the  study  of  the  classical  and  heathen  literature. 
This  was  the  commencement  of  that  thoroughly  pagan  taste 
which  in  the  following  century  demoralized  Christian  Art. 
There  was  now  an  attempt  at  varying  the  arrangement  of  the 
sacred  groups  which  led  to  irreverence,  or  at  best  to  a  sort  of 
superficial  mannered  grandeur  ;  and  from  this  period  we  date 
the  first  introduction  of  the  portrait  Virgins.  An  early,  and 
most  scandalous,  example  [by  Pinturicchio]  remains  to  us  in 
one  of  the  frescoes  in  the  Vatican  [in  one  of  the  Appartamenti 
Borgia]  which  represents  Giulia  Farnese  in  the  character  of 
the  Madonna,  and  Pope  Alexander  VI.  (the  infamous  Borgia) 
kneeling  at  her  feet  in  the  character  of  a  votary.  Under  the 
influence  of  the  Medici  the  churches  of  Florence  were  filled 
with  pictures  of  the  Virgin,  in  which  the  only  thing  aimed  at 
was    an   alluring   and   even  meretricious   beauty.      Savonarola 


INTRODUCTION  21 

thundered  from  his  pulpit  in  the  garden  of  San  Marco  against 
these  impieties.  He  exclaimed  against  the  profaneness  of 
those  who  represented  the  meek  mother  of  Christ  in  gorgeous 
apparel,  with  head  unveiled,  and  under  the  features  of  women 
too  well  and  publicly  known.  He  emphatically  declared  that 
if  the  painters  knew  as  well  as  he  did  the  influence  of  such 
pictures  in  perverting  simple  minds,  they  would  hold  their  own 
works  in  horror  and  detestation.  Savonarola  yielded,  to  none 
in  orthodox  reverence  for  the  Madonna  ;  hut  he  desired  that 
she  should  be  represented  in  an  orthodox  manner.  He  perished 
at  the  stake,  but  not  till  after  he  had  made  a  bonfire  in  the 
Piazza  at  Florence  of  the  offensive  effigies  ;  he  perished  —  per- 
secuted to  death  by  the  Borgia  family.  But  his  influence  on 
the  greatest  Florentine  artists  of  his  time  is  apparent  in  the 
Virgins  of  Botticelli,  Lorenzo  di  Credi,  and  Fra  Bartolommeo, 
all  of  whom  had  been  his  friends,  admirers,  and  disciples ; 
and  all,  differing  from  each  other,  were  alike  in  this,  that, 
whether  it  be  the  dignified  severity  of  Botticelli,  or  the  chaste 
simplicity  of  Lorenzo  di  Credi,  or  the  noble  tenderness  of  Fra 
Bartolommeo,  we  feel  that  each  of  them  had  aimed  to  portray 
worthily  the  sacred  character  of  the  Mother  of  the  Redeemer. 
And  to  these,  as  I  think,  we  might  add  Raphael  himself,  who 
visited  Florence  but  a  short  time  after  the  horrible  execution 
of  Savonarola,  and  must  have  learned  through  his  friend  Bar. 
tolommeo  to  mourn  the  fate  and  revere  the  memory  of  that  re 
markable  man,  whom  he  placed  afterwards  in  the  grand  fresco 
of  the  "  Theologia,"  among  the  doctors  and  teachers  of  the 
Church.  (Vatican,  Rome.)  Of  the  numerous  Virgins  painted 
by  Raphael  in  after  times,  not  one  is  supposed  to  have  been  a 
portrait :  he  says  himself,  in  a  letter  to  Count  Castiglione, 
that  he  painted  from  an  idea  in  his  own  mind,  "  mi  servo  d' 
una  certa  idea  che  mi  viene  in  mente  ;  "  while  in  the  contem- 
porary works  of  Andrea  del  Sarto  we  have  the  features  of 
his  handsome  but  vulgar  wife  in  every  Madonna  he  painted.1 

In  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  constellation 
of  living  genius  in  every  department  of  Art,  the  riches  of  the 

1  The  tendency  to  portraiture,  in  early  Florentine  and  German  Art,  is  ob- 
servable from  an  early  period.  The  historical  sacred  subjects  of  Masaccio, 
Ghirlandajo,  and  Van  Eyck  arc  crowded  with  portraits  of  living  personages. 
Their  introduction  into  devotional  subjects,  in  the  character  of  sacred  persons, 
i3  far  less  excusable. 


22  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

Church,  the  luxurious  habits  and  classical  studies  of  the 
churchmen,  the  decline  of  religious  conviction,  and  the  ascend- 
ency of  religious  controversy,  had  combined  to  multiply  church 
pictures,  particularly  tbose  of  a  large  and  decorative  character. 
But,  instead  of  the  reign  of  faitb,  we  had  now  the  reign  of 
taste.  There  was  an  absolute  passion  for  picturesque  group- 
ing ;  and,  as  the  assembled  figures  were  to  be  as  varied  as  pos- 
sible in  action  and  attitude,  the  artistic  treatment,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  lines  of  form  and  the  colors  of  the  draperies  from 
interfering  with  each  other,  required  great  skill  and  profound 
study  :  some  of  these  scenic  groups  have  become,  in  the  hands 
of  great  painters,  such  as  Titian,  Paul  Veronese,  and  Annibal 
Caracci,  so  magnificent,  that  we  are  inclined  to  forgive  their 
splendid  errors.  The  influence  of  Sanazzaro,  and  of  his 
famous  Latin  poem  on  the  Nativity  (De  Partu  Virginis), 
on  the  artists  of  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  on  the 
choice  and  treatment  of  the  subjects  pertaining  to  the  Ma- 
donna, can  hardly  be  calculated ;  it  was  like  that  of  Dante  in 
the  fourteenth  century,  but  in  its  nature  and  result  how  differ- 
ent !  The  grand  materialism  of  Michael  Angelo  is  supposed  to 
have  been  allied  to  the  genius  of  Dante  ;  but  would  Dante  have 
acknowledged  the  group  of  the  Holy  Family  in  the  Florentine 
Gallery,  to  my  feeling  one  of  the  most  profane  and  offensive 
of  the  so-called  religious  pictures,  in  conception  and  execution, 
which  ever  proceeded  from  the  mind  or  hand  of  a  great 
painter  ?  No  doubt  some  of  the  sculptural  Virgins  of  Michael . 
Angelo  are  magnificent  and  stately  in  attitude  and  expression, 
but  too  austere  and  mannered  as  religious  conceptions ;  nor 
can  we  wonder  if  the  predilection  for  the  treatment  of  mere 
form  led  his  followers  and  imitators  into  every  species  of  exag- 
geration and  affectation.  In  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, the  same  artist  who  painted  a  Leda,  or  a  Psyche,  or  a 
Venus  one  day,  painted  for  the  same  patron  a  Virgin  of  Mercy, 
or  a  "  Mater  Purissima  "  on  the  morrow.  Here,  the  votary 
told  his  beads,  and  recited  his  Aves,  before  the  blessed  Mother 
of  the  Redeemer;  there,  she  was  invoked  in  the  purest  Latin 
by  titles  which  the  classical  mythology  had  far  otherwise  con- 
secrated. I  know  nothing  more  disgusting  in  Art  than  the 
long-limbed,  studied,  inflated  Madonnas,  looking  grand  with 
all  their  might,  of  this  period ;  luckily  they  have  fallen  into 
such  disrepute  that  we  seldom  see  them.     The   "  Madonna    del 


INTRODUCTION  23 

lungo  Collo "  of  Parmigiano  (Pitti,  Florence)  might  be  cited 
as  a  favorable  example  of  this  mistaken  and  wholly  artificial 
grace. 

But  in  the  midst  of  these  paganized  and  degenerate  influ- 
ences, the  reform  in  the  discipline  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  was  preparing  a  revolution  in  religious  Art.  The 
Council  of  Trent  had  severely  denounced  the  impropriety  of 
certain  pictures  admitted  into  churches  :  at  the  same  time,  in 
the  conflict  of  creeds  which  now  divided  Christendom,  the 
agencies  of  Art  could  not  safely  be  neglected  by  that  Church 
which  had  used  them  with  such  signal  success.  Spiritual  Art 
was  indeed  no  more.  It  was  dead  :  it  could  never  be  revived 
without  a  return  to  those  modes  of  thought  and  belief  which  had 
at  first  inspired  it.  Instead  of  religious  Art,  appeared  what  I 
must  call  theological  Art.  Among  the  events  of  this  age 
which  had  great  influence  on  the  worship  and  the  representa- 
tions of  the  Madonna,  I  must  place  the  battle  of  Lepanto,  in 
1571,  in  which  the  combined  fleets  of  Christendom,  led  by 
Don  Juan  of  Austria,  achieved  a  memorable  victory  over  the 
Turks.  This  victory  was  attributed  by  Pope  Pius  V.  to  the 
especial  interposition  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  A  new  invocation 
was  now  added  to  her  Litany,  under  the  title  of  Auxilium 
Christianorum  ;  a  new  festival,  that  of  the  Rosary,  was  now 
added  to  those  already  held  in  her  honor  ;  and  all  the  artistic 
genius  which  existed  in  Italy,  and  all  the  piety  of  orthodox 
Christendom,  were  now  laid  under  contribution  to  encase  in 
marble  sculpture,  to  enrich  with  countless  offerings,  that 
miraculous  house,  which  the  angels  had  borne  over  land  and 
sea,  and  set  down  at  Loretto  ;  ami  that  miraculous,  bejewelled, 
and  brocaded  Madonna,  enshrined  within  it. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  Caracci 
.-chool  gave  a  new  impetus  to  religious,  or  rather,  as  it  had 
been  styled  in  contradistinction,  sacerdotal  or  theological  Art. 
If  these  great  painters  had  been  remarkable  merely  for  the 
application  of  new  artistic  methods,  for  the  success  with  which 
they  combined  the  aims  of  various  schools  — 

I>i  Michel  Angiol  la  terribil  via 

E  M  vero  natural  di  Tiziano, 

the  study  of  the  antique  with  the  observation  of  real  life  — 
their  works  undoubtedly  would  never  have  taken  such  a  hold 


24  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

on  the  minds  of  their  contemporaries,  nor  kept  it  so  long. 
Everything  to  live  must  have  an  infusion  of  truth  within 
it,  and  this  "  patch-work  ideal,"  as  it  has  heen  well  styled,  was 
held  together  by  such  a  principle.  The  founders  of  the  Caracci 
school,  and  their  immediate  followers,  felt  the  influences  of  the 
time,  and  worked  them  out.  They  were  devout  believers  in 
their  Church,  and  most  sincere  worshippers  of  the  Madonna. 
Guido,  in  particular,  was  so  distinguished  by  his  passionate 
enthusiasm  for  her,  that  he  was  supposed  to  have  been  favored 
by  a  particular  vision,  which  enabled  him  more  worthily  to 
represent  her  divine  beauty. 

It  is  curious  that,  hand  in  hand  with  this  development  of 
taste  and  feeling  in  the  appreciation  of  natural  sentiment  and 
beauty,  and  this  tendency  to  realism,  we  find  the  associations 
of  a  peculiar  and  specific  sanctity  remaining  with  the  old  Byzan- 
tine type.  This  arose  from  the  fact,  always  to  be  borne  in 
mind,  that  the  most  ancient  artistic  figure  of  the  Madonna  was 
a  purely  theological  symbol :  apparently  the  moral  type  was 
too  nearly  allied  to  the  human  and  the  real  to  satisfy  faith. 
It  is  the  ugly,  dark-colored,  ancient  Greek  Madonnas,  such  as 
this,  which  had  all  along  the  credit  of  being  miraculous  ;  and 
"  to  this  day,"  says  Kugler,  "  the  Neapolitan  lenionade-seller 
will  allow  no  other  than  a  formal  Greek  Madonna,  with  olive- 
green  complexion  and  veiled  head,  to  be  set  up  in  his  booth. 
It  is  the  same  in  Russia.  Such  pictures,  in  which  there  is  no 
attempt  at  representation,  real  or  ideal,  and  which  merely  have 
a  sort  of  imaginary  sanctity  and  power,  are  not  so  much  idols 
as  they  are  mere  fetislies.  The  most  lovely  Madonna  by 
Raphael  or  Titian  would  not  have  the  same  effect.  Guido, 
who  himself  painted  lovely  Virgins,  went  every  Saturday  to 
pray  before  the  little  black  Madonna  della  Guardia  [near 
Bologna],  and,  as  we  are  assured,  held  this  old  Eastern  relic 
in  devout  veneration." 

In  the  pictures  of  the  Madonna,  produced  by  the  most  emi- 
nent painters  of  the  seventeenth  century,  is  embodied  the  the- 
ology of  the  time.  The  Virgin  Mary  is  not,  like  the  Madonna 
di  San  Sisto,  "  a  single  projection  of  the  artist's  mind,"  but, 
as  far  as  he  could  put  his  studies  together,  she  is  "a  compound 
of  every  creature's  best,"  sometimes  majestic,  sometimes  grace- 
ful, often  full  of  sentiment,  elegance,  and  refinement,  but 
wanting  wholly  in  the  spiritual  element.      If  the  Madonna  did 


INTRODUCTION  25 

really  sit  to  Guido  in  person,1  we  fancy  she  must  have  re- 
vealed her  loveliness,  but  veiled  her  divinity. 

Without  doubt  the  finest  Madonnas  of  the  seventeenth 
century  are  those  produced  by  the  Spanish  school ;  not  because 
they  more  realize  our  spiritual  conception  of  the  Virgin  — 
quite  the  contrary  :  for  here  the  expression  of  life  through 
sensation  and  emotion  prevails  over  abstract  mind,  grandeur, 
and  grace  —  but  because  the  intensely  human  and  sympathetic 
character  given  to  the  Madonna  appeals  most  strongly  to  our 
human  nature.  The  appeal  is  to  the  faith  through  the  feel- 
ings, rather  than  through  the  imagination.  Morales  and 
Rihera  excelled  in  the  Mater  Dolorosa  ;  and  who  has  surpassed 
Murillo  in  the  tender  exultation  of  maternity  ?  2  There  is  a 
freshness  and  a  depth  of  feeling  in  the  best  Madonnas  of  the 
late  Spanish  school  which  puts  to  shame  the  mannerism  of 
the  Italians  and  the  naturalism  of  the  Flemish  painters  of  the 
same  period ;  and  this  because  the  Spaniards  were  intense  and 
enthusiastic  believers,  not  mere  thinkers,  in  Art  as  in  religion. 

As  in  the  sixth  century,  the  favorite  dogma  of  the  time 
(the  union  of  the  divine  and  human  nature  in  Christ,  and  the 
dignity  of  Mary  as  parent  of  both)  had  been  embodied  in  the 
group  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  so  now,  in  the  seventeenth, 
the  doctrine  of  the  eternal  sanctification  and  predestination 
of  Mary  was,  after  a  long  controversy,  triumphant,  and  took 
form  in  the  "  Immaculate  Conception  ;  "  that  beautiful  subject 
in  which  Guido  and  Murillo  excelled,  and  which  became  the 
darling  theme  of  the  later  schools  of  Art.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark,  that  while  in  the  sixth  century,  and  for  a  thousand 
years  afterwards,  the  Virgin,  in  all  devotional  subjects,  was 
associated  in  some  visible  manner  with  her  divine  Son,  in  this 
she  appears  without  the  Infant  in  her  arms.  The  maternal 
character  is  set  aside,  and  she  stands  alone,  absolute  in  herself, 
and  complete  in  her  own  perfections.  This  is  a  very  signifi- 
cant characteristic  of  the  prevalent  theology  of  the  time. 

I  forbear  to  say  much  of  the  productions  of  a  school  of  Art 
which  sprang  up  simultaneously  with  that  of  the  Caracci,  and 
in  the  end  overpowered  its  higher  aspirations.  The  Natural- 
ist i,  as  they  were  called,  imitated  nature  without  selection,  and 

1  Sne  Malvasia,  Fehinn  Pi/trice. 

2  See  in  the  Handbook  to  the  Private  Galleries  of  Art  sonu-  remarks  on  the 

tendencies  of  the  Spanish  School. 


26  LEGENDS   OF  THE  MADONNA 

produced  soiae  charming  painters.  But  their  religious  pictures 
are  almost  intolerable,  and  their  Madonnas  are  almost  all  por- 
traits. Rubens  and  Albano  painted  their  wives ;  Allori  and 
Vandyck  their  mistresses ;  Domenichino  his  daughter.  Sal- 
vator  Rosa,  in  his  Satires,  exclaims  against  this  general  pro- 
faneness  in  terms  not  less  strong  than  those  of  Savonarola  in 
his  Sermons  ;  but  the  corruption  was  by  this  time  beyond  the 
reach  of  cure ;  the  sin  could  neither  be  preached  nor  eluded 
away.  Striking  effects  of  light  and  shade,  peculiar  attitudes, 
scenic  groups,  the  perpetual  and  dramatic  introduction  of 
legendary  scenes  and  personages,  of  visions  and  miracles  of  the 
Madonna  vouchsafed  to  her  votaries,  characterize  the  produc- 
tions of  the  seventeenth  century.  As  "  they  who  are  whole 
need  not  a  physician,  but  they  who  are  sick,"  so  in  proportion 
to  the  decline  of  faith  were  the  excitements  to  faith,  or  rather 
to  credulity:  just  in  proportion  as  men  were  less  inclined  to 
believe  were  the  wonders  multiplied  which  they  were  called 
on  to  believe. 

I  have  not  spoken  of  the  influence  of  Jesuitism  on  Art. 
This  Order  kept  alive  that  devotion  for  the  Madonna  which 
their  great  founder  Loyola  had  so  ardently  professed  when  he 
chose  for  the  Lady  of  his  thoughts,  "  no  princess,  no  duchess, 
but  one  far  greater,  more  peerless."  The  learning  of  the 
Jesuits  supplied  some  .themes  not  hitherto  in  use,  principally 
of  a  fanciful  and  allegorical  kind,  and  never  had  the  meek 
Mary  been  so  decked  out  with  earthly  ornament  as  in  their 
church  pictures.  If  the  sanctification  of  simplicity,  gentleness, 
maternal  love,  and  heroic  fortitude,  were  calculated  to  elevate 
the  popular  mind,  the  sanctification  of  mere  glitter  and  orna- 
ment, embroidered  robes,  and  jewelled  crowns,  must  have 
tended  to  degrade  it.  It  is  surely  an  unworthy  and  a  foolish 
excuse  that,  in  thus  desecrating  with  the  vainest  and  most  vul- 
gar finery  the  beautiful  ideal  of  the  Virgin,  an  appeal  was 
made  to  the  awe  and  admiration  of  vulgar  and  ignorant  minds ; 
for  this  is  precisely  what,  in  all  religious  imagery,  should  be 
avoided.  As,  however,  this  sacrilegious  millinery  does  not 
come  within  the  province  of  the  Fine  Arts,  I  may  pass  it  over 
here. 

Among  the  Jesuit  prints  of  the  seventeenth  century,  I  re- 
member one  which  represents  the  Virgin  and  Child  in  the 
centre,  and  around  are   the  most  famous  heretics  of  all  ages, 


INTRODUCTION  27 

lying  prostrate,  or  hanging  by  the  neck.  Julian  the  Apostate  ; 
Leo  the  Isaurian  ;  his  son,  Constantine  Capronymus  ;  Arius ; 
Nestorius  ;  Manicheus  ;  Luther ;  Calvin  —  very  characteristic 
of  the  age  of  controversy  which  had  succeeded  to  the  age  of 
faith,  when,  instead  of  solemn  saints  and  grateful  votaries,  we 
have  dead  or  dying  heretics  surrounding  the  Mother  of  Mercy ! 

After  this  rapid  sketch  of  the  influences  which  modified  in 
a  general  way  the  pictures  of  the  Madonna,  we  may  array  be- 
fore us  and  learn  to  compare,  the  types  which  distinguished  in 
a  more  particular  manner  the  separate  schools,  caught  from 
some  more  local  or  individual  impulses.  Thus  we  have  the 
stern,  awful  quietude  of  the  old  Mosaics ;  the  hard  lifelessness 
of  the  degenerate  Greek  ;  the  pensive  sentiment  of  the  Siena, 
and  stately  elegance  of  the  Florentine  Madonnas ;  the  intel- 
lectual Milanese,  with  their  large  foreheads  and  thoughtful 
eyes ;  the  tender,  refined  mysticism  of  the  Umbrian  ;  the 
sumptuous  loveliness  of  the  Venetian ;  the  quaint,  characteris- 
tic simplicity  of  the  early  German,  so  stamped  with  their 
nationality,  that  I  never  looked  round  me  in  a  roomful  of 
German  girls  without  thinking  of  Albert  Durer's  Virgins ;  the 
intense  lifelike  feeling  of  the  Spanish  ;  the  prosaic,  portrait- 
like nature  of  the  Flemish  schools ;  and  so  on.  But  here  an 
obvious  question  suggests  itself.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  di- 
versity, these  ever-changing  influences,  was  there  no  character- 
istic type  universally  accepted,  suggested  by  common  religious 
associations,  if  not  defined  by  ecclesiastical  authority,  to  which 
the  artist  was  bound  to  conform  ?  How  is  it  that  the  imper- 
sonation of  the  Virgin  fluctuated,  not  only  with  the  fluctuating 
tendencies  of  successive  ages,  but  even  with  the  caprices  of  the 
individual  artists. 

This  leads  us  back  to  reconsider  the  sources  from  which  the 
artist  drew  his  inspiration. 

The  legend  which  represents  St.  Luke  the  Evangelist  as  a 
painter  appears  to  be  of  Eastern  origin,  and  quite  unknown  in 
"Western  Europe  before  the  first  crusade.  It  crept  in  then, 
and  was  accepted  with  many  other  oriental  superstitions  and 
traditions.  It  may  have  originated  in  the  real  existence  of  a 
Greek  painter  named  Luca  —  a  saint,  too,  he  may  have  been; 
for  the  Greeks  have  a  whole  calendar  of  canonized  artists  — 
painters,  poets,  and  musicians ;   and  this  Greek  San  Luca  may 


28  LEGENDS   OF   THE  MADONNA 

have  been  a  painter  of  those  Madonnas  imported  from'  the 
ateliers  of  Mount  Athos  into  the  West  by  merchants  and  pil- 
grims ;  and  the  West,  which  knew  but  of  one  St.  Luke,  may 
have  easily  confounded  the  painter  and  the  evangelist. 

But  we  must  also  remember  that  St.  Luke  the  Evangelist 
was  early  regarded  as  the  great  authority  with  respect  to  the 
few  Scripture  particulars  relating  to  the  character  and  life  of 
Mary  ;  so  that,  in  the  figurative  sense,  he  may  be  said  to  have 
painted  that  portrait  of  her  which  has  been  since  received  as 
the  perfect  type  of  womanhood  :  1.  Her  noble,  trustful  hu- 
mility, when  she  receives  the  salutation  of  the  angel;  the 
complete  and  feminine  surrender  of  her  whole  being  to  the 
higher  holier  will,  —  "Be  it  unto  me  according  to  thy  word" 
(Luke  i.  38).  2.  Then,  the  decision  and  prudence  of  charac- 
ter shown  in  her  visit  to  Elizabeth,  her  elder  relative  ;  her  jour- 
ney in  haste  over  the  hills  to  consult  with  her  cousin,  which 
journey  it  is  otherwise  difficult  to  accord  with  the  oriental  cus- 
toms of  the  time,  unless  Mary,  young  as  she  was,  had  possessed 
unusual  promptitude  and  energy  of  disposition  (Luke  i.  39,  40). 
3.  The  proof  of  her  intellectual  power  in  the  beautiful  hymn 
she  has  left  us,  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord "  (Luke  i. 
46).  The  commentators  are  not  agreed  as  to  whether  this 
effusion  was  poured  forth  by  immediate  inspiration,  or  com- 
posed and  written  down,  because  the  same  words,  "  and  Mary 
said,"  may  be  interpreted  in  either  sense ;  but  we  can  no  more 
doubt  her  being  the  authoress  than  we  can  doubt  of  any  other 
particulars  recorded  in  the  same  Gospel :  it  proves  that  she 
must  have  been,  for  her  time  and  country,  most  rarely  gifted 
in  mind,  and  deeply  read  in  the  Scriptures.  4.  She  was  of  a 
contemplative,  reflecting,  rather  silent  disposition.  "  She  kept 
all  these  sayings,  and  pondered  them  in  her  heart"  (Luke  ii. 
19).  She  made  no  boast  of  that  wondrous  and  most  blessed 
destiny  to  which  she  was  called  ;  she  thought  upon  it  in  silence. 
It  is  inferred  that  as  many  of  these  sayings  and  events  could 
be  known  to  herself  alone,  St.  Luke  the  Evangelist  could  have 
learned  them  only  from  her  own  lips.  5.  Next,  her  truly 
maternal  devotion  to  her  divine  Son,  whom  she  attended  hum- 
bly through  his  whole  ministry  ;  1  6,  and  lastly,  the  sublime 
fortitude  and  faith  with  which  she  followed  her  Son  to  the 

1  Milton  places  in  the  mouth  of  our  Saviour,  an  allusion  to  the  influence  of 
his  Mother  in  earlv  life  :  — 


INTRODUCTION  29 

death  scene  (Luke  xxiii.  27),  stood  beside  the  cross  till  all 
was  finished  (Juhn  xix.  25),  and  then  went  home,  and  Heed; 
for  she  was  to  be  to  us  an  example  of  all  that  a  woman  could 
endure,  as  well  as  all  that  a  woman  could  be  and  act  out  in 
her  earthly  life.  Such  was  the  character  of  Mary;  such  the 
portrait  really  painted  by  St.  Luke,  and,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
these  scattered,  artless,  unintentional  notices  of  conduct  and 
character  converge  into  the  most  perfect  moral  type  of  the  in- 
tellectual, tender,  simple,  and  heroic  woman  that  ever  was 
placed  before  us  for  our  edification  and  example. 

But  in  the  Church  traditions  and  enactments,  another  char- 
acter was,  from  the  fifth  century,  assigned  to  her,  out  of  which 
grew  the  theological  type,  very  beautiful  and  exalted,  but  ab- 
sorbing to  a  great  degree  the  scriptural  and  moral  type,  and 
substituting  for  the  merely  human  attributes  others  borrowed 
from  her  relation  to  the  great  scheme  of  redemption ;  for  it 
was  contended  that,  as  the  mother  of  The  Divine,  she  could 
not  be  herself  less  than  divine ;  consequently  above  the  angels, 
and  first  of  all  created  beings.  According  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception,  her  tender  woman's  wisdom  became 
supernatural  gifts  ;  the  beautiful  humility  was  changed  into  a 
knowledge  of  her  own  predestined  glory ;  and,  being  raised 
bodily  into  immortality,  and  placed  beside  her  Son,  in  all  "the 
sacred  splendor  of  beneficence,"  she  came  to  be  regarded  as  our 
intercessor  before  that  divine  Son,  who  could  refuse  nothing 
to  his  Mother.  The  relative  position  of  the  Mother  and  Son, 
being  spiritual  and  indestructible,  was  continued  in  heaven  : 
and  thus  step  by  step  the  woman  was  transmuted  into  the 
divinity. 

But,  like  her  Son,  Mary  had  walked  in  human  form  upon 
earth,  and  in  form  must  have  resembled  her  Son  ;  for.  as  it  is 
argued,  Christ  had  no  earthly  father,  therefore  could  only  have 
derived  his  human  lineaments  from  his  mother.  All  the  old 
legends  assume  that  the  resemblance  between  the  Son  and  the 
Mother  must  have  been  perfect. 

These  growing  thoughts  my  mother  soon  perceiving 
By  words  at  times  cast  forth,  inly  rejoiced, 
And  said  to  me  apart,   "  High  are  thy  thoughts, 
O  Son ;  hut  nourish  them,  and  let  them  soar 
To  what  height  sacred  virtue  and  true  worth 
Can  raise  them,  though  above  example  high." 

[Paradise  Regained,  book  i.  227.] 


30  LEGENDS   OF  THE   MADONNA 

Dante  alludes  to  this  belief  :  — 

Riguarda  ormai  nella  faccia  ch'  a  Christo 
Piii  s'  assomiglia. 

Now  raise  thy  view 
Unto  the  visage  most  resembling  Christ. 

The  accepted  type  of  the  head  of  Christ  was  to  be  taken  as 
a  model,  in  its  mild,  intellectual  majesty,  for  that  of  the  Virgin- 
mother,  as  far  as  difference  of  sex  would  allow. 

In  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  Nicephorus  Callixtus  he  has 
inserted  a  description  of  the  person  of  Mary,  which  he  declares 
to  have  been  given  by  Epiphanius,  who  lived  in  the  fourth 
century,  and  by  him  derived  from  a  more  ancient  source.  It 
must  be  confessed,  that  the  type  of  person  here  assigned  to  the 
Virgin  is  more  energetic  for  a  woman  than  that  which  has  been 
assigned  to  our  Saviour  as  a  man.  "  She  was  of  middle  stature  ; 
her  face  oval ;  her  eyes  brilliant,  and  of  an  olive  tint ;  her 
eyebrows  arched  and  black  ;  her  hair  was  of  a  pale  brown ; 
her  complexion  fair  as  wheat.  She  spoke  little,  but  she  spoke 
freely  and  affably  ;  she  was  not  troubled  in  her  speech,  but 
grave,  courteous,  tranquil.  Her  dress  was  without  ornament, 
and  in  her  deportment  was  nothing  lax  or  feeble."  To  this 
ancient  description  of  her  person  and  manners,  we  are  to  add 
the  scriptural  and  popular  portrait  of  her  mind  ;  the  gentleness, 
the  purity,  the  intellect,  power,  and  fortitude  ;  the  gifts  of  the 
poetess  and  prophetess  ;  the  humility  in  which  she  exceeded  all 
womankind.  Lastly,  we  are  to  engraft  on  these  personal  and 
moral  qualities  the  theological  attributes  which  the  Church, 
from  early  times,  had  assigned  to  her,  the  supernatural  endow- 
ments which  lifted  her  above  angels  and  men  :  all  these  were 
to  be  combined  into  one  glorious  type  of  perfection.  Where 
shall  we  seek  this  highest,  holiest  impersonation  ?  Where  has 
it  been  attained,  or  even  approached  ?  Not.  certainly,  in  the 
mere  woman,  nor  yet  in  the  mere  idol ;  not  in  those  lovely  crea- 
tions which  awaken  a  sympathetic  throb  of  tenderness ;  nor  in 
those  stern,  motionless  types  which  embody  a  dogma ;  not  in 
the  classic  features  of  marble  goddessess,  borrowed  as  models ; 
nor  in  the  painted  images  which  stare  upon  us  from  tawdry 
altars  in  flaxen  wigs  and  embroidered  petticoats.      But  where  ? 

Of  course  we  each  form  to  ourselves  some  notion  of  what  we 
require ;  and  these  requirements  will  be  as  diverse  as  our 
natures  and  our  habits  of  thought.     For  myself,  I  have  seen 


INTRODUCTION  31 

my  own  ideal  once,  and  only  once,  attained :  there  where 
Raphael  —  inspired  if  ever  a  painter  was  inspired  —  projected 
on  the  space  before  him  that  wonderful  creation  which  we 
styled  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto  (Dresden  Gallery)  ;  for 
there  she  stands  —  the  transfigured  woman,  at  once  completely 
human  and  completely  divine,  an  abstraction  of  power,  purity, 
and  love,  poised  on  the  empurpled  air,  and  requiring  no  other 
support ;  looking  out,  with  her  melancholy,  loving  mouth,  her 
slightly  dilated,  sibylline  eyes,  quite  through  the  universe,  to 
the  end  and  consummation  of  all  things ;  sad,  as  if  she  be- 
held afar  off  the  visionary  sword  that  was  to  reach  her  heart 
through  Him  now  resting  as  enthroned  on  that  heart ;  yet 
already  exalted  through  the  homage  of  the  redeemed  genera- 
tions who  were  to  salute  her  as  Blessed.  Six  times  have  I 
visited  the  city  made  glorious  by  the  possession  of  this  treas- 
ure, and  as  often,  when  again  at  a  distance,  with  recollections 
disturbed  by  feeble  copies  and  prints,  I  have  begun  to  think, 
"  Is  it  so  indeed  ?  is  she  indeed  so  divine  ?  or  does  not  rather 
the  imagination  encircle  her  with  a  halo  of  religion  and  poetry, 
and  lend  a  grace  which  is  not  really  there ;  "  and  as  often, 
when  returned,  I  have  stood  before  it  and  confessed  that  there 
is  more  in  that  form  and  face  than  I  had  ever  yet  conceived. 
I  cannot  here  talk  the  language  of  critics,  and  speak  of  this 
picture  merely  as  a  picture,  for  to  me  it  was  a  revelation.  In 
the  same  gallery  is  the  lovely  Madonna  of  the  Meyer  family  ; 
inexpressibly  touching  and  perfect  in  its  way,  but  conveying 
only  one  of  the  attributes  of  Mary,  her  benign  pity ;  while  the 
Madonna  di  San  Sisto  is  an  abstract  of  all.1 

The  poets  are  ever  the  best  commentators  on  the  painters.  1 
have  already  given  from  the  great  "singers  of  high  poems"  in 
the  fourteenth  century  their  exposition  of  the  theological  type  of 
the  Madonna.  Now,  in  some  striking  passages  of  our  modern 
poets  we  may  find  a  most  beautiful  commentary  on  what  J 
have  termed  the  moral  type. 

The  first  is  from  Wordsworth,  and  may  be  recited  before 
the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto  :  — 

l  Expression  is  the  great  and  characteristic  excellence  of  Raphael,  more 
especially  in  his  Madonnas.  It  is  precisely  this  which  all  copies  and  engravings 
render  at  best  most  imperfectly:  and  in  point  of  expression  the  most  successful 
engraving  of  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto  is  certainly  that  of  Steinle. 


32  LEGENDS   OF  THE   MADONNA 

Mother!  whose  virgin  bosom  was  uncrost 
With  the  least  shade  of  thought  to  sin  allied! 
Woman  !  above  all  women  glorified  ; 
Our  tainted  nature's  solitary  boast ; 
Purer  than  foam  on  central  ocean  tost; 
Brighter  than  eastern  skies  at  daybreak  strewn 
With  fancied  roses,  than  the  unblemish'd  moon 
Before  her  wane  begins  on  heaven's  blue  coast, 
Thy  Image  falls  to  earth.     Yet  some  I  ween, 
Not  unforgiven,  the  suppliant  knee  might  bend, 
As  to  a  visible  Power,  in  which  did  blend 
All  that  was  mix'd  and  reconcil'd  in  thee, 
Of  mother's  love  with  maiden  purity, 
Of  high  with  low,  celestial  with  terrene. 

The  next,  from  Shelley,  reads  like  a  hymn  in  honor  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  :  — 

Seraph  of  Heaven  !  too  gentle  to  be  human, 

Veiling  beneath  that  radiant  form  of  woman 

All  that  is  insupportable  in  thee 

Of  light,  and  love,  and  immortality! 

Sweet  Benediction  in  the  eternal  curse! 

Veil'd  Glory  of  this  lampless  Universe! 

Thou  Moon  beyond  the  clouds  !     Thou  living  Form 

Among  the  Dead!     Thou  Star  above  the  storm  ! 

Thou  Wonder,  and  thou  Beauty,  and  thou  Terror! 

Thou  Harmony  of  Nature's  Art !     Thou  Mirror 

In  whom,  as  in  the  splendor  of  the  Sun, 

All  shapes  look  glorious  which  thou  gazest  on ! 

See  where  she  stands !  a  mortal  shape  endued 
With  love,  and  life,  and  light,  and  deity; 
The  motion  which  may  change  but  cannot  die  ; 
An  image  of  some  bright  eternity; 
A  shadow  of  some  golden  dream  ;  a  splendor 
Leaving  the  third  sphere  pilotless. 

I  do  not  know  whether  intentionally  or  not,  hut  we  have  here 
assembled  some  of  the  favorite  symbols  of  the  Virgin  —  the 
moon,  the  star,  the  "  terr  Wilis  ut  castrorum  acies  "  (Cant.  vi. 
10),  and  the  mirror. 

The  third  is  a  passage  from  Robert  Browning,  which  appears 
to  me  to  sum  up  the  moral  ideal :  — 

There  is  a  vision  in  the  heart  of  each, 

Of  justice,  mere}',  wisdom,  tenderness 

To  wrong  and  pain,  and  knowledge  of  their  cure; 

And  these  embodied  in  a  woman's  form 

That  best  transmits  them  pure  as  first  received 

From  God  above  her  to  mankind  below! 

[To  this  list  should  be  added  liossetti's  beautiful  Ave.] 


INTRODUCTION  33 


II.  Symbols  and  Attributes  of  the  Virgin 

That  which  the  genius  of  the  greatest  of  painters  only  once 
expressed,  we  must  not  look  to  find  in  his  predecessors,  who 
saw  only  partial  glimpses  of  the  union  of  the  divine  and 
human  in  the  feminine  form;  still  less  in  his  degenerate  suc- 
cessors, who  never  beheld  it  at  all. 

The  difficulty  of  fully  expressing  this  complex  ideal,  and 
the  allegorical  spirit  of  the  time,  first  suggested  the  expedient 
of  placing  round  the  figure  of  the  glorified  Virgin  certain  acces- 
sory symbols,  which  should  assist  the  artist  to  express,  and  the 
observer  to  comprehend,  what  seemed  beyond  the  power  of  Art 
to  portray,  —  a  language  of  metaphor  then  understood,  and  which 
we  also  must  understand  if  we  would  seize  the  complete  theo- 
logical idea  intended  to  be  conveyed. 

I  shall  begin  with  those  symbols  which  are  borrowed  from 
the  Litanies  of  the  Virgin,  and  from  certain  texts  of  the  Can- 
ticles, in  all  ages  of  the  Church  applied  to  her :  symbols 
which,  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  frequently 
accompany  those  representations  which  set  forth  her  Glorifica- 
tion or  Predestination  ;  and,  in  the  seventeenth,  are  introduced 
into  the   "Immaculate  Conception." 

1.  The  Sun  and  the  Moon.  "Electa  ut  Sol,  pulchra  ut 
Luna,"  is  one  of  the  texts  of  the  Canticles  applied  to  Mary  ; 
and  also  in  a  passage  of  the  Revelation,  "  A  woman  clothed 
with  the  sun,  having  the  moon  under  her  feet,  and  on  her 
head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars."  Hence  the  radiance  of  the  sun 
above  her  head,  and  the  crescent  moon  beneath  her  feet.  From 
inevitable  association  the  crescent  moon  suggests  the  idea  of 
the  perpetual  chastity  ;  but  in  this  sense  it  would  be  a  pagan 
rather  than  a  Christian  attribute. 

2.  The  Star.  This  attribute,  often  embroidered  in  front 
of  the  veil  of  the  Virgin,  or  on  the  right  shoulder  of  her  blue 
mantle,  has  become  almost  as  a  badge  from  which  several  well- 
known  pictures  derive  their  title,  "La  Madonna  della  Stella." 
It  is,  in  the  first  place,  an  attribute  alluding  to  the  most  beauti- 
ful and  expressive  of  her  many  titles:  "Stella  Maris"  Star 
of  the  Sea,1  which  is  one  interpretation  of  her  Jewish  name, 

l  Ave  Maris  Stella 
Dei  Mater  Alma  !  etc. 


34  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

Miriam;  but  she  is  also  "  Stella  Jacobi"  the  Star  of  Jacob; 
"  Stella  Matutina,"  the  Morning  Star  ;  .  "  Stella  non  Er- 
ratica"  the  Fixed  Star.  When,  instead  of  the  single  star  on 
her  veil  or  mantle,  she  has  the  crown  of  twelve  stars,  the 
allusion  is  to  the  text  of  the  Apocalypse  already  quoted,  and 
the  number  of  stars  is  in  allusion  to  the  number  of  the 
Apostles.1 

3.  The  Lilt.  "/  am  the  rose  of  Sharon,  and  the  lily 
of  the  valleys"  (Cant.  ii.  1,  2).  As  the  general  emblem  of 
purity,  the  lily  is  introduced  into  the  Annunciation,  where  it 
ought  to  be  without  stamens :  and  in  the  enthroned  Madonnas 
it  is  frequently  placed  in  the  hands  of  attendant  angels,  more 
particularly  in  the  Florentine  Madonnas  ;  the  lily,  as  the  em- 
blem of  their  patroness,  being  chosen  by  the  citizens  as  the 
device  of  the  city.  For  the  same  reason  it  became  that  of 
the  French  monarchy.  Thorns  are  sometimes  interlaced  with 
the  lily,  to  express  the  "  LUium  inter  Spinas"  (Cant.  ii.  2). 

4.  The  Rose.  She  is  the  rose  of  Sharon,  as  well  as  the 
lily  of  the  valley ;  and  as  an  emblem  of  love  and  beauty,  the 
rose  is  especially  dedicated  to  her.  The  plantation  or  garden 
of  roses 2  is  often  introduced  ;  sometimes  it  forms  the  back- 
ground of  the  picture.  There  is  a  most  beautiful  example  in 
a  Madonna  by  Cesare  da  Sesto  (Brera,  Milan)  ;  and  another, 
"  the  Madonna  of  the  Rose  Bush,"  by  Martin  Schoen.  (Cathe- 
dral, Colmar.) 

5.  The  Inclosed  Garden  (Hortus  conclusus)  is  an  image 
borrowed,  like  many  others,  from  the  Song  of  Solomon 
(Cant.  iv.  12).  I  have  seen  this  inclosed  garden  very  signifi- 
cantly placed  in  the  background  of  the  Annunciation,  and  in 
pictures  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  Sometimes  the  in- 
closure  is  formed  of  a  treillage  or  hedge  of  roses,  as  in  a  beau- 
tiful Virgin  by  Francia.3  (Munich  Gallery.)  Sometimes  it  is 
merely  formed  of  stakes  or  palisades,  as  in  some  of  the  prints 
by  Albert  Dtirer. 

The  Well  always  full  ;  the  Fountain  forever  sealed ; 
the  Tower  of  David  ;  the  Temple  of  Solomon  :  the  City  of 

i  "In  capite,  inquit,  ejus  corona  stellarum  duodecim;  quidni  coronent  sidera 
quam  sol  vestit  ?  "     St.  Bernard. 

2  Quasi  plantatio  rosae  in  Jericho. 

3  Another  by  Antonio  da  Negroponte  in  the  San  Francesco  della  Vigna  at 
Venice,  is  also  an  instance  of  this  significant  background.  [Luini's  Madonna 
in  the  Brera  is  still  another  instance. 1 


INTRODUCTION  35 

David  (Ciritas  sancta)  (Cant.  iv.  4,  12,  15)  ;  all  these  are 
attributes  borrowed  from  the  Canticles,  and  are  introduced 
into  pictures  and  stained  glass. 

6.  The  Porta  Clausa,  the  Closed  Gate,  is  another  meta- 
phor, taken  from  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel  (xliv.  2). 

7.  The  Cedar  of  Lebanon  (Cedrus  exaltata,  "exalted  as 
a  cedar  in  Lebanon  "),  because  of  its  height,  its  incorruptible 
substance,  its  perfume,  and  the  healing  virtues  attributed  to  it 
in  the  East,  expresses  the  greatness,  the  beauty,  the  goodness 
of  Mary. 

The  victorious  Palm,  the  Plantain  "  far  spreading,"  and  the 
Cypress  pointing  to  heaven,  are  also  emblems  of  the  Virgin. 

The  Olive,  as  a  sign  of  peace,  hope,  and  abundance,  is  also 
a  fitting  emblem  of  the  graces  of  Mary.1 

8.  The  Stem  of  Jesse  (Is.  xi.  1),  figured  as  a  green  branch 
entwined  with  flowers,  is  also  very  significant. 

9.  The  Mirror  (Specula  sine  macula)  is  a  metaphor  bor- 
rowed from  the  Book  of  "Wisdom  (vii.  25).  We  meet  with  it 
in  some  of  the  late  pictures  of  the  Immaculate  Conception. 

10.  The  Sealed  Book  is  also  a  symbol  often  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  Virgin  in  a  mystical  Annunciation,  and 
sufficiently  significant.  The  allusion  is  to  the  text,  "  In  that 
book  were  all  my  members  written  ;  "  and  also  to  the  text  in 
Isaiah  {xxix.  11,  12),  in  which  he  describes  the  vision  of  the 
book  that  was  sealed,  and  could  be  read  neither  by  the  learned 
nor  the  unlearned. 

11.  "  The  Bush  which  burned  and  was  not  consumed  "  is 
introduced,  with  a  mystical  significance,  into  an  Annunciation 
by  Titian. 

Besides  these  symbols,  which  have  a  mystic  and  sacred 
significance,  and  are  applicable  to  the  Virgin  only,  certain 
attributes  and  accessories  are  introduced  into  pictures  of  the 
Madonna  and  Child,  which  are  capable  of  a  more  general  in- 
terpretation. 

1.  The  Globe,  as  the  emblem  of  sovereignty,  was  very 
early  placed  in  the  hand  of  the  divine  Child.  When  the 
globe  is  under  the  feet  of  the  Madonna  and  encircled  by  a  ser- 
pent, as  in  some  later  pictures,  it  figures  our  Redemption ;  her 
triumph  over  a  fallen  world  —  fallen  through  sin. 

l  Quasi  oliva  specio.sa  in  campia. 


36  LEGENDS   OF  THE  MADONNA 

2.  The  Serpent  is  the  general  emblem  of  Sin  or  Satan ; 
but  under  the  feet  of  the  Virgin  it  has  a  peculiar  significance. 
She  has  generally  her  foot  on  the  head  of  the  reptile.  "  She 
shall  bruise  thy  head,"  as  it  is  interpreted  in  the  Koman 
Catholic  Church.1 

3.  The  Apple,  which  of  all  the  attributes  is  the  most  com- 
mon, signifies  the  fall  of  man,  which  made  Redemption  neces- 
sary. It  is  sometimes  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Child ;  but 
when  in  the  hand  of  the  Mother,  she  is  then  designated  as  the 
second  Eve.2 

4.  The  Pomegranate,  with  the  seeds  displayed,  was  the 
ancient  emblem  of  hope,  and  more  particularly  of  religious 
hope.  It  is  often  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Child,  who 
sometimes  presents  it  to  his  Mother. 

Other  fruits  and  flowers,  always  beautiful  accessories,  are 
frequently  introduced,  according  to  the  taste  of  the  artist. 
But  fruits  in  a  general  sense  signified  "  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit 
—  joy,  peace,  love;"  and  flowers  were  consecrated  to  the 
Virgin :  hence  we  yet  see  them  placed  before  her  as  offerings. 

5.  Ears  of  Wheat  in  the  hand  of  the  Infant  (as  in  a 
lovely  little  Madonna  by  Ludovico  Caracci,  Lansdowne  Col- 
lection) figured  the  bread  in  the  Eucharist,  and  Grapes  the 
wine.  There  was  another  exactly  similar  in  the  collection  of 
Mr.  Rogers. 

6.  The  Book.  In  the  hand  of  the  Infant  Christ,  the 
book  is  the  Gospel  in  a  general  sense,  or  it  is  the  Book  of 
Wisdom.  In  the  hand  of  the  Madonna,  it  may  have  one  of 
two  meanings.  When  open,  or  when  she  has  her  finger  be- 
tween the  leaves,  or  when  the  Child  is  turning  over  the  pages, 
then  it  is  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  and  is  always  supposed  to  be 
open  at  the  seventh  chapter.  When  the  book  is  clasped  or 
sealed,  it  is  a  mystical  symbol  of  the  Virgin  herself,  as  I  have 
already  explained. 

7.  The  Dove,  as  the  received  emblem  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
is  properly  placed  above,  as  hovering  over  the  Virgin.  There 
is  an  exception  to  this  rule  in  a  very  interesting  picture  in  the 
Louvre,  where  the  Holy  Dove  (with  the  nimbus)  is  placed  at 
the  feet  of  the  Child.3     This  is  so  unusual,  and  so  contrary  to 

i  Ipsa  conteret  caput  tui. 

2  Mors  per  Evani  ;  vita  per  Mariani. 

3  The  Virgin  has  the  air  of  a  gypsy. 


INTRODUCTION  37 

all  the  received  proprieties  of  religious  Art,  that  I  think  the 
ni minis  may  have  been  added  afterwards, 

The  seven  doves  round  the  head  of  the  Virgin  signify  the 
seven  gifts  of  the  Spirit.  These  characterize  her  as  personified 
'Wisdom  —  the  Mater  Sapientice. 

Doves  placed  near  Mary  when  she  is  reading,  or  at  work  in 
the  temple,  are  expressive  of  her  gentleness  and  tenderness. 

8.  Birds.  The  bird  in  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  signi- 
fied the  soul  of  man.  In  the  very  ancient  pictures  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  I  think,  that  the  bird  in  the  hand  of  Christ 
figured  the  soul,  or  the  spiritual  as  opposed  to  the  material. 
But,  in  the  later  pictures,  the  original  meaning  being  lost, 
birds  became  mere  ornamental  accessories,  or  playthings. 
Sometimes  it  is  a  parrot  from  the  East,  sometimes  a  partridge 
(the  partridge  is  frequently  in  the  Venetian  pictures)  :  some- 
times a  goldfinch,  as  in  Raphael's  Madonna  del  Cardellino. 
[Pitti,  Florence.]  In  a  Madonna  by  Guercino,  the  Mother 
holds  a  bird  perched  on  her  hand,  and  the  Child,  with  a  most 
naive  infantine  expression,  shrinks  back  from  it.  It  was  in 
the  collection  of  Mr.  Rogers.  [Sold  in  1856.  Vide  Redford's 
Sales,  vol.  ii.  p.  234.]  In  a  picture  by  Baroccio,  he  holds  it  up 
before  a  cat  (National  Galley,  London)  :  so  completely  were 
the  original  symbolism  and  all  the  religious  proprieties  of  Art 
at  this  time  set  aside. 

Other  animals  are  occasionally  introduced.  Extremely 
offensive  are  the  apes  when  admitted  into  devotional  pictures. 
We  have  associations  with  the  animal  as  a  mockery  of  the 
human,  which  render  it  a  very  disagreeable  accessory.  It 
appears  that,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  it  became  the  fashion 
to  keep  apes  as  pets,  and  every  reader  of  Vasari  will  remember 
the  frequent  mention  of  these  animals  as  pets  and  favorites 
of  the  artists.  Thus  only  can  I  account  for  the  introduction  of 
the  ape,  particularly  in  the  Ferrarese  pictures.  Bassano's  dog, 
Raroccio's  cat,  are  often  introduced.  In  a  famous  picture  by 
Titian,  "  La  Vierge  au  Lapin  "  (Louvre),  we  have  the  rabbit. 
The  introduction  of  these  and  other  animals  marks  the  decline 
of  religious  Art. 

Certain  women  of  the  Old  Testament  are  regarded  as  espe- 
cial types  of  the  Virgin. 

Evk.  Mary  is  regarded  as  the  second  Eve,  because  through 
her  came  the  promised  Redemption.      She  bruised  the   head 


38  LEGENDS   OF  THE   MADONNA 

of  the  Serpent,  The  Tree  of  Life,  the  Fall,  or  Eve  holding 
the  Apple,  are  constantly  introduced  allusively  in  the  Madonna 
pictures,  as  ornaments  of  her  throne,  or  on  the  predella  of  an 
altar-piece  representing  the  Annunciation,  the  Nativity,  or  the 
Coronation. 

Rachel  figures  as  the  ideal  of  contemplative  life. 

Ruth,  as  the  ancestress  of  David. 

Abishag,  as  "  the  virgin  who  was  brought  to  the  king." 
(1  Kings  i). 

Bathsheba,  because  she  sat  upon  a  throne  on  the  right 
hand  of  her  son. 

Judith  and  Esther,  as  having  redeemed  their  people,  and 
brought  deliverance  to  Israel.  It  is  because  of  their  typical 
character,  as  emblems  of  the  Virgin,  that  these  Jewish  hero- 
ines so  often  figure  in  the  religious  pictures. 

In  his  Paradiso  (c.  xxxii.),  Dante  represents  Eve,  Rachel, 
Sara,  Ruth,  Judith,  as  seated  at  the  feet  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
beneath  her  throne  in  heaven  ;  and  next  to  Rachel,  by  a  refine- 
ment of  spiritual  and.  poetical  gallantry,  he  has  placed  his 
Beatrice. 

In  the  beautiful  frescoes  of  the  church  of  St.  Apollinaris 
at  Remagen,  these  Hebrew  women  stand  together  in  a  group 
below  the  throne  of  the  Virgin. 

Of  the  Prophets  and  the  Sibyls  who  attend  on  Christ  in  his 
character  of  the  Messiah  or  Redeemer,  I  shall  have  much  to 
say  when  describing  the  artistic  treatment  of  the  history  and 
character  of  our  Lord.  Those  of  the  Prophets  who  are  sup- 
posed to  refer  more  particularly  to  the  Incarnation  properly 
attend  on  the  Virgin  and  Child  ;  but  in  the  ancient  altar-pieces 
they  are  not  placed  within  the  same  frame,  nor  are  they 
grouped  immediately  round  her  throne,  but  form  the  outer  ac- 
cessories, or  are  treated  separately  as  symbolical. 

First,  Moses,  because  he  beheld  the  burning  bush,  "  which 
burned  and  was  not  consumed."  He  is  generally  in  the  act 
of  removing  his  sandals. 

Aaron,  because  his  rod  blossomed  miraculously. 

Gideon,  on  whose  fleece  descended  the  dew  of  heaven, 
while  all  was  dry  around. 

Daniel,  who  beheld  the  stone  which  was  cut  out  without 
hands,  and  became  a  great  mountain,  filling  the  earth  (ch.  ii 
45.) 


INTRODUCTION  39 

David,  as  prophet  and  ancestor.  "  Listen,  0  daughter, 
and  incline  thine  ear." 

Isaiah.  "  Behold  a  virgin  shall  conceive  and  hear  a 
son." 

Ezekiel.      "  This  gate  shall  he  shut  "  (ch.  xliv.  2). 

Certain  of  these  personages,  Moses,  Aaron,  Gideon,  Daniel, 
Ezekiel,  are  not  merely  accessories  and  attendant  figures,  hut 
in  a  manner  attributes,  as  expressing  the  character  of  the  Vir- 
gin. Thus,  in  many  instances,  we  find  the  prophetical  per- 
sonages altogether  omitted,  and  we  have  simply  the  attribute 
figuring  the  prophecy  itself,  the  burning  bush,  the  rod,  the 
dewy  fleece,  etc. 

The  Sibyls  are  sometimes  introduced  alternately  with  the 
Prophets.  In  general,  if  there  be  only  two,  they  are  the 
Tiburtina,  who  showed  the  vision  to  Augustus,  and  the  Cumean 
Sibyl,  who  foretold  the  birth  of  our  Saviour.  The  Sibyls 
were  much  the  fashion  in  the  classic  times  of  the  sixteenth 
century  ;  Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael  have  left  us  consum- 
mate examples. 

But  I  must  repeat  that  the  full  consideration  of  the  Pro- 
phets and  Sibyls  as  accessories  belongs  to  another  department 
of  sacred  Art,  and  they  will  find  their  place  there. 

The  Evangelists  frequently,  and  sometimes  one  or  more  of 
the  Twelve  Apostles,  appear  as  accessories  which  assist  the 
theological  conception.  When  other  figures  are  introduced, 
they  are  generally  either  the  protecting  saints  of  the  country 
or  locality,  or  the  Saints  of  the  Religious  Order  to  whom  the 
edifice  belongs ;  or,  where  the  picture  or  window  is  an  ex-voto, 
we  find  the  patron  saints  of  the  confraternity,  or  of  the  donor 
or  votary  who  has  dedicated  it. 

Angels  seated  at  the  feet  of  the  Madonna  and  playing  on 
musical  instruments  are  most  lovely  and  appropriate  accesso- 
ries, for  the  choral  angels  are  always  around  her  in  heaven,  and 
on  earth  she  is  the  especial  patroness  of  music  and  minstrelsy. 
Her  delegate  Cecilia  patronized  sacred  music ;  but  all  music 
ami  musicians,  all  minstrels,  and  all  who  plied  the  "  gaye 
science,"  were  under  the  protection  of  Mary.  When  the  an- 
gels were  singing  from  their  music  books,  and  others  are  ac- 
companying thorn  with  lutes  and  viols,  the  song  is  not  always 
supposed  to  be  the  same.  In  a  Nativity  they  sing  the  Gloria 
in  Excehis  Deo ;  in  a  Coronation  the  Begina  Ca?ll ;  in  an 


40  LEGENDS   OF  THE   MADONNA 

enthroned  Madonna  with  votaries,  the  Salve  Regina,  Mater 
Mlsericordice !  in  a  pastoral  Madonna  and  Child  it  may  be 
the  Alma  Mater  Redemptoris. 

In  all  the  most  ancient  devotional  effigies  (those  in  the  cata- 
combs and  the  old  mosaics)  the  Virgin  appears  as  a  majestic 
woman  of  mature  age.  In  those  subjects  taken  from  her  his- 
tory which  precede  her  return  from  Egypt,  and  in  the  Holy 
Families,  she  should  appear  as  a  young  maiden  from  fifteen  to 
seventeen  years  old. 

In  the  subjects  taken  from  her  history  which  follow  the 
baptism  of  our  Lord,  she  should  appear  as  a  matron  between 
forty  and  fifty,  but  still  of  a  sweet  and  gracious  aspect.  When 
Michael  Angelo  was  reproached  with  representing  his  Mater 
Dolorosa  much  too  young,  he  replied  that  the  perfect  virtue 
and  serenity  of  the  character  of  Mary  would  have  preserved 
her  beauty  and  youthful  appearance  long  beyond  the  usual 
period.      (St.  Peter's,  Rome.) 

Because  some  of  the  Greek  pictures  and  carved  images  had 
become  black  through  extreme  age,  it  was  argued  by  certain 
devout  writers  that  the  Virgin  herself  must  have  been  of  a 
very  dark  complexion  ;  and  in  favor  of  this  idea  they  quoted 
this  text  from  the  Canticles,  "  I  am  black,  but  comely,  0  ye 
daughters  of  Jerusalem."  But  others  say  that  her  complexion 
had  become  black  only  during  her  sojourn  in  Egypt.  At  all 
events,  though  the  blackness  of  these  antique  images  was  sup- 
posed to  enhance  their  sanctity,  it  has  never  been  imitated  in 
the  Fine  Arts,  and  it  is  quite  contrary  to  the  description  of 
Nicephorus,  which  is  the  most  ancient  authority,  and  that  which 
is  followed  in  the  Greek  school. 

The  proper  dress  of  the  Virgin  is  a  close  red  tunic,  with 
long  sleeves ;  1  and  over  this  a  blue  robe  or  mantle.  In  the 
early  pictures  the  colors  are  pale  and  delicate.  Her  head 
ought  to  be  veiled.  The  fathers  of  the  primeval  Church,  par- 
ticularly Tertullian,  attach  great  importance  to  the  decent  veil 
worn  by  Christian  maidens  ;  and  in  all  the  early  pictures  the 
Virgin  is  veiled.      The  enthroned  Virgin,  unveiled,  with  long 

1  In  a  famous  Pietiv  by  Raphael,  engraved  by  Marc  Antonio,  the  Virgin,  stand- 
ing by  the  dead  form  of  her  Son,  has  the  right  arm  apparently  bare  ;  in  the 
repetition  of  the  subject  it  is  clothed  with  a  full  sleeve,  the  impropriety  being 
corrected.  The  first  is,  however,  the  most  perfect  and  most  precious  as  a  work 
of  Art.     Bartsch,  Le  Peintre  Oraveur,  vol.  xiv.  p.  40,  Nos.  34,  35. 


INTRODUCTION  41 

tresses  falling  down  on  either  side,  was  an  innovation  intro- 
duced about  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  ;  commencing,  I 
think,  with  the  Milanese,  and  thence  adopted  in  the  German 
schools  and  those  of  Northern  Italy.  The  German  Madonnas 
of  Albert  Diirer's  time  have  often  magnificent  and  luxuriant 
hair,  curling  in  ringlets,  or  descending  to  the  waist  in  rich 
waves,  and  always  fair.  Dark-haired  Madonnas  appear  first  in 
the  Spanish  ami  later  Italian  schools. 

In  the  historical  pictures,  her  dress  is  very  simple ;  but  in 
those  devotional  figures  which  represent  her  as  Queen  of 
Heaven,  she  wears  a  splendid  crown,  sometimes  of  jewels  in- 
terwoven with  lilies  and  roses.  The  crown  is  often  the  sover- 
eign crown  of  the  country  in  which  the  picture  is  placed : 
thus,  in  the  Papal  States,  she  often  wears  the  triple  tiara  ;  in 
Austria,  the  imperial  diadem.  Her  blue  tunic  is  richly  em- 
broidered with  gold  and  gems,  or  lined  with  ermine  or  stuff  of 
various  colors,  in  accordance  with  a  text  of  Scripture :  "  The 
King's  daughter  is  all  glorious  within  ;  her  clothing  is  of 
wrought  gold.  She  shall  be  brought  unto  the  King  in  rai- 
ment of  needlework  "  (Ps.  xlv.  13,  14).  In  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  and  in  the  Assumption,  her  tunic  should  be  plain 
white,  or  white  spangled  with  golden  stars.  In  the  subjects 
relating  to  the  Passion,  and  after  the  Crucifixion,  the  dress 
of  the  Virgin  should  be  violet  or  gray.  These  proprieties, 
however,  are  not  always  attended  to. 

In  the  early  pictures  which  represent  her  as  nursing  the  Di- 
vine Infant  (the  subject  called  the  "  Virgine  Lattante  ")  the 
utmost  care  is  taken  to  veil  the  bust  as  much  as  possible.  In 
the  Spanish  school  the  most  vigilant  censorship  was  exercised 
over  all  sacred  pictures,  and,  with  regard  to  the  figures  of  the 
Virgin,  the  utmost  decorum  was  required.  "  What,"  says 
Pacheco,  "  can  be  more  foreign  to  the  respect  which  we  owe  to 
Our  Lady  the  Virgin,  than  to  paint  her  sitting  down  with  one 
of  her  knees  placed  over  the  other,  and  often  with  her  sacred 
feet  uncovered  and  naked  ?  Let  thanks  be  given  to  the  Holy 
Inquisition,  which  commands  that  this  liberty  should  be  cor- 
rected." For  this  reason,  perhaps,  we  seldom  see  the  feet  of 
the  Virgin  in  Spanish  pictures,  or  in  any  of  the  old  pictures 
till  the  seventeenth  century.  "  Tandis  que  Dieu  est  toujours 
montre'  pieds  nus,  lui  qui  est  descendu  h  terre  et  a  pris  notre 
humanitf',  Marie  au  contraire  est  constamment  reprdsentde  les 


42  LEGENDS   OF  THE   MADONNA 

pieds  perdus  dans  les  plis  trainants,  nombreux  et  legers,  de  sa 
robe  virginale  ;  elle  qui  est  e'levde  au-dessus  de  la  terre  et  rap- 
proche'e  de  Dieu  par  sa  purete.  Dieu  montre  par  ses  pieds 
nus  qu'il  a  pris  le  corps  de  Fhomme  ;  Marie  fait  comprendre 
en  les  cacbant  qu'elle  participe  de  la  spirituality  de  Dieu." 
["While  God  is  always  shown  barefooted,  He  who  descended  to 
earth  and  took  on  our  humanity,  Mary,  on  the  contrary,  is 
constantly  represented  with  her  feet  lost  in  the  trailing  folds, 
light  and  ample,  of  her  virgin  robe,  she  who  is  lifted  above 
the  earth  and  brought  close  to  God  through  her  purity.  God 
shows  by  his  bare  feet  that  he  has  taken  the  body  of  man ; 
Mary,  by  hiding  hers,  makes  it  known  that  she  shares  the 
spirituality  of  God.]  Carducho  speaks  more  particularly  on 
the  impropriety  of  painting  the  Virgin  unshod,  "  since  it  is 
manifest  that  our  Lady  was  in  the  habit  of  wearing  shoes,  as 
is  proved  by  the  much  venerated  relic  of  one  of  them  from 
her  divine  feet  at  Burgos." 

The  child  in  her  arms  is  always,  in  the  Greek  and  early 
pictures,  clothed  in  a  little  tunic,  generally  white.  In  the 
fifteenth  century  he  first  appears  partly,  and  then  wholly,  un- 
draped.  Joseph,  as  the  earthly  sposo,  wears  the  saffron-colored 
mantle  over  a  gray  tunic.  In  the  later  schools  of  Art  these 
significant  colors  are  often  varied,  and  sometimes  wholly  dis- 
pensed with. 

III.     Devotional  and  Historical  Representations. 

In  this  volume,  as  in  the  former  ones,  I  have  adhered  to  the 
distinction  between  the  devotional  and  the  historical  represen- 
tations. 

I  class  as  devotional  all  those  which  express  a  dogma  merely  ; 
all  the  enthroned  Madonnas,  alone  or  surrounded  by  significant 
accessories  or  attendant  saints ;  all  the  Mystical  Coronations 
and  Immaculate  Conceptions;  all  the  Holy  Families  with 
saints,  and  those  completely  ideal  and  votive  groups  in  which 
the  appeal  is  made  to  the  faith  and  piety  of  the  observer.  I 
shall  give  the  characteristic  details,  in  particular  instances, 
farther  on. 

The  altar-pieces  in  a  Roman  Catholic  church  are  always 
either  strictly  devotional  subjects,  or,  it  may  be,  historical  sub- 
jects (such  as  the  Nativity)  treated  in  a  devotional  sense.    They 


INTRODUCTION 


48 


are  sometimes  in  several  pieces  or  compartments.  A  diptych 
is  an  altar-piece  composed  of  two  divisions  or  leaves,  which  are 
united  by  hinges,  and  close  like  a 
book.  Portable  altar-pieces  of  a 
small  size  are  generally  in  this  form  ; 
and  among  the  most  valuable  and 
curious  remains  of  early  religious 
Art  are  the  Greek  and  Byzantine 
diptychs,  sometimes  painted,  some- 
times carved  in  ivory.1  A  trip- 
tych is  an  altar-piece  in  three  parts ;  the  two  outer  divisions  or 
wings  often  closing  as  shutters  over  the  central  compartment, 
—  as  in  form  below.  On  the  outside  of  the  shutters  or  doors 
the  Annunciation  was  generally  painted,  as  the  mystery  which 
opened  the  gates  of  salvation  ;  occasionally,  also,  the  portraits 
of  the  votaries  or  donors. 

Complete  examples  of  devotional  representation  occur  in  the 
complex  and  elaborate  altar-pieces  and  windows  of  stained  glass, 
which  often  comprehend  a  very  significant  scheme  of  theology.2 
1  give  here  plans  of  two  of  these  old  altar-pieces,  which  will 
assist  the  reader  in  elucidating  the  meaning  of  others. 

The  first  is  the  altar-piece 
'in   the  Rinuccini   chapeL  in 
the     church     of    the     Santa 
Croce  of  Florence.     It  is  ne- 
cessary to   premise  that  the 
chapel  was  founded  in  honor 
of  the  Virgin  and  Mary  Mag- 
dalene,  while   the  church  is 
dedicated  to  the  Holy  Cross, 
and  belongs  to  the  Francis- 
cans. 
The  compartments  are  separated  by  wood-work  most  richly 
carved  and   gilt   in    the  Gothic    style,   with   twisted    columns, 
pinnacles,  and  scrolls.      The  subjects  are  thus  distributed. 


1  Among  the  "fVts  from  Ancient  Ivory  Carvings,"  published  by  the  Arun- 
del Society,  will  be  found  some  interesting  and  illustrative  examples,  particu- 
larly Class  III.  Diptych  b,  Class  Vlf.  Diptych  e  and  Triptych/,  Class  IX. 
Triptych  /.-. 

2  Still  more  important  examples  occur  in  the  porches  and  exterior  decoration 
of  the  old  cathedrals,  French  and  English,  which   have  escaped  mutilation. 


44 


LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 


A.  The  Virgin  and  Child  enthroned.  She  has  the  sun  on 
her  breast,  the  moon  under  her  feet,  the  twelve  stars  over  her 
head,  and  is  attended  by  angels  bearing  the  attributes  of  the 
cardinal  virtues.     B.   St.  John  the  Baptist.     C.   St.  Francis. 


D.  St.  John  Evangelist.  E.  Mary  Magdalene.  1.  The  Cruci- 
fixion, with  the  Virgin  and  St.  John.  2,  3,  4,  5.  The  four 
Evangelists  with  their  books :  half  length.  6,  7.  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul:  half  length.  8,  9,  10,  11.  St.  Thomas,  St. 
Philip,  St.  James,  and  St.  Andrew :  half  length.  P  P.  The 
Predella.  12.  The  Nativity  and  Adoration  of  Magi.  13.  St. 
Francis  receives  the  Stigmata.  14.  Baptism  of  Christ.  15. 
The  Vision  of  St.  John  in  Patmos.  16.  Mary  Magdalene  borne 
up  by  angels.  Between  the  altar-piece  and  the  predella  runs 
the  inscription  in  Gothic  letters,  Ave  Dulcissima  Virgo 
Maria,  succurre  nobis  Mater  Pia,  mccclxxviii. 

The  second  example  is  sketched  from  an  altar-piece  painted 
for  the  suppressed  convent  of  Santa  Chiara,  at  Venice.  It  is 
six  feet  high,  and  eight  feet  wide,  and  the  ornamental  carving 
in  which  the  subjects  are  inclosed  is  particularly  splendid  and 
elaborate. 

A.  The  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  treated  as  a  religious 
mystery,  with  choral  angels.     B.  The  Nativity  of  our  Lord. 


INTRODUCTION 


45 


C.  The  Baptism.  D.  The  Last  Supper.  E.  The  Betrayal  of 
Christ.  F.  The  Procession  to  Calvary,  in  which  the  Virgin 
is  rudely  pushed  aside  hy  the  soldiers.  G.  The  Crucifixion, 
as  an  event ;  John  sustains  the  Virgin  at  the  foot  of  the  cross. 
H.  The  Resurrection  and  the  Noli  me  tangere.  I.  Ascension. 
1.  Half-figure  of  Christ,  with  the  hand  extended  in  benedic- 
tion ;  in  the  other  hand  the  Gospel.  2.  David.  3.  Isaiah.  4, 
5,  6,  7.   The  four  Evangelists  standing.     8,  9, 11,  12.     Scenes 


AaA*AL 


U^A*A, 


from  the  Life  of  St.  Francis  and  St.  Clara.     10.   The  Descent 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.      13.  The  Last  Judgment. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  so  many  of  these  altar-pieces  have 
been  broken  up,  and  the  detached  parts  sold  as  separate  pic- 
tures ;  so  that  we  may  find  one  compartment  of  an  altar  in  a 
church  at  Rome,  and  another  hanging  in  a  drawing-room  in 
London ;  the  upper  part  at  Ghent,  the  lower  half  at  Paris ;  one 
wing  at  Berlin,  another  at  Florence.  But  where  they  exist 
as  a  whole,  how  solemn,  significant,  and  instructive  the  arrange- 
ment! It  may  be  read  as  we  read  a  poem.  Compare  these 
with  the  groups  round  the  enthroned  Virgin  in  the  later  altar- 
pieces,  where  the  saints  elbow  each  other  in  attitudes,  where 
mortal  men  sit  with  unseemly  familiarity  close  to  personages 
recognized  as  divine.  As  I  have  remarked  farther  on,  it  is 
one  of  the   most   interesting   speculations  connected  with  the 


46  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

study  of  Art,  to  trace  this  decline  from  reverence  to  irrever- 
ence, from  the  most  rigid  formula  to  the  most  fantastic  caprice. 
The  gradual  disappearance  of  the  personages  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  increasing  importance  given  to  the  family  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  the  multiplication  of  legendary  subjects,  and 
all  the  variety  of  adventitious,  unmeaning,  or  merely  orna- 
mental accessories,  strike  us  just  in  proportion  as  a  learned 
theology  replaced  the  unreflecting,  undouhting  piety  of  an 
earlier  age. 

The  historical  subjects  comprise  the  events  from  the  Life  of 
the  Virgin,  when  treated  in  a  dramatic  form  ;  and  all  those 
groups  which  exhibit  her  in  her  merely  domestic  relations, 
occupied  by  cares  for  her  Divine  Child,  and  surrounded  by  her 
parents  and  kindred,  subjects  which  assume  a  pastoral  and 
poetical  rather  than  an  historical  form. 

All  these  may  be  divided  into  Scriptural  and  Legendary 
representations.  The  Scriptural  scenes  in  which  the  Virgin 
Mary  is  a  chief  or  important  personage  are  the  Annunciation, 
the  Visitation,  the  Nativity,  the  Purification,  the  Adoration  of 
the  Magi,  the  Flight  into  Egypt,  the  Marriage  at  Cana,  the 
Procession  to  Calvary,  the  Crucifixion  (as  related  by  St.  John), 
and  the  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  Traditional  and 
Legendary  scenes  are  those  taken  from  the  apocryphal  Scrip- 
tures, some  of  which  have  existed  from  the  third  century. 
The  Legend  of  Joachim  and  Anna,  the  parents  of  the  Virgin, 
with  the  account  of  her  early  life,  and  her  Marriage  with 
Joseph,  down  to  the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents,  are  taken  from 
the  Gospel  of  Mary  and  the  Protevangelion.  The  scenes  of 
the  Flight  into  Egypt,  the  Repose  on  the  Journey,  and  the 
Sojourn  of  the  Holy  Family  at  Hieropolis  or  Matarea,  are 
taken  from  the  Gospel  of  Infancy.  The  various  scenes  attend- 
ing the  Death  and  Assumption  of  the  Virgin  are  derived  from 
a  Greek  legendary  poem,  once  attributed  to  St.  John  the 
Evangelist,  but  the  work,  as  it  is  supposed,  of  a  certain  Greek, 
named  Meliton,  who  lived  in  the  ninth  century,  and  who  has 
merely  dressed  up  in  a  more  fanciful  form  ancient  traditions 
of  the  Church.  Many  of  these  historical  scenes  have  been 
treated  in  a  devotional  style,  expressing  not  the  action,  but 
the  event,  taken  in  the  light  of  a  religious  mystery ;  a  distinc- 
tion  which   I   have  fully    explained    in   the   following   pages, 


INTRODUCTION 


47 


where  I  have  given  in  detail  the  legends  on  which  these  scenes 
are  founded,  and  the  religious  significance  conveyed  by  the 
treatment. 

A  complete  series  of  the  History  of  the  Virgin  begins  with 
the  rejection  of  her  father  Joachim  from  the  temple,  and  ends 
with  the  Assumption  and  Coronation,  including  most  of  the 
events  in  the  History  of  our  Lord  (as,  for  example,  the  series 
painted  by  Giotto,  in  the  chapel  of  the  Arena,  at  Padua)  ;  but 
there  are  many  instances  in  which  certain  important  events 
relating  to  the  Virgin  only,  as  the  principal  person,  are  treated 
as  a  devotional  series :  and  such  are  generally  found  in  the 
chapels  and  oratories  especially  dedicated  to  her.  A  beautiful 
instance  is  that  of  the  Death  of  the  Virgin,  treated  in  a  succes- 
sion of  scenes,  as  an  event  apart,  and  painted  by  Taddeo 
Bartolo,  in  the  chapel  of  the  Palazzo  Pubblico,  at  Siena.  This 
small  chapel  was  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  soon  after  the  terri- 
ble plague  of  1348  had  ceased,  as  it  was  believed,  by  her  inter- 
cession ;  so  that  this  municipal  chapel  was  at  once  an  expression] 


of  thanksgiving  and  a  memorial  of  death,  of  suffering,  of  be- 
reavement, anil  of  hope  in  the  resurrection.  The  frescoes 
cover  one  wall  of  the  chapel,  and  are  thus  arranged  in  four 
Bcenes. 

1.  Mary  is  reclining  in  her  last  sickness,  and  around  her 
the  Apostles,  who,  according  to  the  beautiful  legend,  were 
miraculously  assembled  to  witness  her  departure.  To  express 
this,  one  of  them  is  floating  in  as  if  borne  on  the  air.  St. 
John  kneels  at  her  feet,  and  she  takes,  with  an  expression  ex- 
quisitely tender  and  maternal,  his  two  hands  in  hers.  This 
action  is  peculiar  to  the  Siena  school.1 

1  On  eacli  side  of  the  principal  door  of  the  cathedral  :it  Siena,  which  is  dedi- 
cated to  "  Beata  Vergine  Assunta,''  and  just  within  the  entrance,  is  a  magnifi- 


48  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

2.  She  lies  extended  on  her  couch,  surrounded  by  the  weep- 
ing Apostles,  and  Christ  behind  receives  the  parting  soul  — 
the  usual  representation,  but  treated  with  the  utmost  senti- 
ment. 

3.  She  is  borne  to  the  grave  by  the  Apostles  ;  in  the  back- 
ground, the  walls  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  Here  the  Greek 
legend  of  St.  Michael  protecting  her  remains  from  the  sacrile- 
gious Jew  is  omitted,  and  a  peculiar  sentiment  of  solemnity 
pervades  the  whole  scene. 

4.  The  resurrection  of  the  Virgin,  when  she  rises  from  the 
tomb  sustained  by  hovering  angels,  and  is  received  by  Christ. 

When  I  first  saw  these  beautiful  frescoes,  in  1847,  they 
were  in  a  very  ruined  state ;  they  have  since  been  restored  in 
a  very  good  style,  and  with  a  reverent  attention  to  the  details 
and  expression. 

In  general,  however,  the  cycle  commences  either  with  the 
legend  of  Joachim  and  Anna,  or  with  the  Nativity  of  the 
Virgin,  and  ends  with  the  Assumption  and  Coronation.  A 
most  interesting  early  example  is  the  series  painted  in  fresco 
by  Taddeo  Gaddi,  in  the  Baroncelli  chapel  at  Florence.  The 
subjects  are  thus  arranged  on  two  walls.  The  first  on  the 
right  hand,  and  the  second  opposite  to  us  as  we  enter. 

cent  pilaster,  of  white  marble,  completely  covered  from  the  base  to  the  capital 
with  the  most  luxurious  carving,  arabesques,  foliage,  etc.,  in  an  admirable  and 
finished  style.  On  the  bases  of  these  two  pilasters  are  subjects  from  the  Life 
of  the  Virgin,  three  on  each  side,  and  thus  arranged,  each  subject  on  one  side 
having  its  pendant  on  the  other. 


Entrance 


1.  The  Meeting  of  Joachim  and  Anna.  2.  The  Nativity  of  Mary.  3.  Her 
sickness  and  last  farewell  to  the  Apostles  ;  bending  towards  St.  John,  she  takes 
his  hand  in  hers  with  the  same  tender  expression  as  in  the  fresco  by  Taddeo 
Bartolo.  4.  She  lies  dead  on  her  couch.  5.  The  Assumption.  6.  The  Coro- 
nation. 

The  figures  are  about  a  foot  in  height,  delicately  carved,  full  of  that  sentiment 
which  is  especially  Sienese,  and  treated  with  a  truly  sculptural  simplicity. 


INTRODUCTION 


49 


Wall  1 


Wall  2 


/       1 

2         \ 

3 

4 

5 

6 

/             " 

8     \ 

9 

Window 

10 

11 

12 

V 

t 

1.  Joachim  is  rejected  from  the  Temple. 

2.  He  is  consoled  by  the  Angel. 

3.  The  meeting  of  Joachim  and  Anna. 

4.  The  Birth  of  the  Virgin. 

5.  The  Presentation  of  the  Virgin.  She  is  here  a  child  of 
about  five  years  old  ;  and  having  ascended  five  steps  (of  the 
fifteen),  she  turns  as  if  to  bid  farewell  to  her  parents  and 
companions,  who  stand  below ;  while  on  the  summit  the  High 
Priest,  Anna  the  prophetess,  and  the  maidens  of  the  Temple 
come  forward  to  receive  her. 

6.  The  Marriage  to  Joseph,  and  the  rage  and  disappoint- 
ment of  the  other  suitors.  * 

The  second  wall  is  divided  by  a  large  window  of  the  richest 
stained  glass,  on  each  side  of  which  the  subjects  are  arranged. 

7.  The  Annunciation.  This  is  peculiar.  Mary,  not  throned 
or  standing,  but  seated  on  the  ground,  with  her  hands  clasped, 
and  an  expression  beautiful  for  devotion  and  humility,  looks 
upward  to  the  descending  angel. 

8.  The  meeting  of  Mary  and  Elizabeth. 

9.  The  Annunciation  to  the  Shepherds. 

10.  The  Xativity. 

11.  The  Wise  .Men  behold  the  Star  in  the  form  of  a  Child. 

12.  They  approach  to  worship.  Under  the  window  is  the 
altar  (f)  no   longer  used  as  such ;   and  behind  it   a   small   but 


50 


LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 


beautiful  triptych  of  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  by  Giotto, 
containing  at  least  a  hundred  heads  of  saints,  angels,  etc. ; 
and  on  the  wall  opposite  to  No.  1  is  the  large  fresco  of  the 
Assumption,  by  Mainardi,  in  which  St.  Thomas  receives  the 
girdle,  the  other  apostles  being  omitted.  This  is  of  much  later 
date,  being  painted  about  1495. 

The  series  of  five  subjects  in  the  Rinuccini  chapel  (in  the 
sacristy  of  the  same  church)  has  been  generally  attributed  to 
Taddeo  Gaddi,  but  I  agree  with  those  who  give  it  to  a  different 
painter  of  the  same  period.1 

The  subjects  are  thus  arranged  :  1.  The  Rejection  of 
Joachim,  which  fills  the  whole  arch  at  the 
top,  and  is  rather  peculiarly  treated.  On 
the  right  of  the  altar  (a)  advances  a  com- 
pany of  grave-looking  elders,  each  with 
his  offering.  On  the  left  (&),  a  procession 
of  the  matrons  and  widows,  "  who  had 
been  fruitful  in  Israel,"  each  with  her 
lamb.  In  the  centre,  Joachim,  with  his 
lamb  in  his  arms  and  an  affrighted  look, 
is  hurrying  down  the  steps.  2.  The 
Lamentation  of  Joachim  on  the  Moun- 
tain, and  the  Meeting  of  Joachim  and 
Anna.  3.  The  Birth  of  the  Virgin.  4. 
The  Presentation  in  the  Temple.  5.  The 
Sposalizio  of  the  Virgin,  with  which  the 
series  concludes  ;  every  event  referring  to 
her  Divine  Son,  even  the  Annunciation, 
being  omitted.  On  comparing  these  frescoes  with  those  in  the 
neighboring  chapel  of  the  Baroncelli,2  the  difference  in  feeling 
will  be  immediately  felt ;  but  they  are  very  na'ive  and  elegant. 
About  a  hundred  years  later  than  these  two  examples  we 
have  the  celebrated  series  painted  by  Ghirlandajo,  in  the  choir 
of  S.  Maria  Novella  at  Florence.  There  are  three  walls.  On 
the  principal  wall,  facing  us  as  we  enter,  is  the  window  ;  and 
around  it  the  Annunciation  (as  a  mystery),  then  the  principal 
saints  of  the  Order  to  whom  the  church  belongs,  —  St.  Domin- 
ick  and  St.  Peter  Martyr,  and  the  protecting  saints  of  Florence. 

1  [These  frescoes  are  now  widely  conceded  by  Art  critics  to  be  the  work  ol 
Gaddi's  favorite  pupil,  Giovanni  da  Milano.] 

2  [The  Baroncelli  chapel  is  now  known  as  the  Cappella  Giugni.] 


2  3 

4  5 


INTRODUCTION 


51 


On  the  left  hand  (/.  e.  the  right  as  we  face  the  high  altar) 
is  the  History  of  the  Virgin  ;  on  the  opposite  side,  the  History 
of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  The  various  cycles  relating  to  St. 
John  as  patron  of  Florence  will  he  fully  treated  in  the  last 
volume  of  "  Legendary  Art ;  "  1  at  present  I  shall  confine  myself 
to  the  beautiful  set  of  subjects  which  relate  the  history  of  the 
Virgin,  and  which  the  engravings  of  Lasinio2  have  rendered 
well  known  to  the  lovers  of  Art.  They  cover  the  whole  wall, 
and  are  thus  arranged,  beginning  from  the  lowest  on  the  left 
hand. 

1.  Joachim  is  driven  from  the  temple. 

2.  The  Birth  of  the  Virgin.  I  have 
reproduced  this  beautiful  composition, 
with  a  description,  at  p.  194. 

3.  The  Presentation  of  the  Virgin  in 
the  Temple. 

4.  The  Marriage  of  Joseph  and  Mary. 

5.  The  Adoration  of  the  Magi.  (This 
is  very  much  ruined.) 

6.  The  Massacre  of  the  Innocents. 
(This  also  is  much  ruined.)  Vasari  says 
it  was  the  finest  of  all.  It  is  very  un- 
usual to  make  this  terrible  and  pathetic 
scene  part  of  the  life  of  the  Virgin. 

7.  In  the  highest  and  largest  compart- 
ment, the  Death  and  Assumption  of  the 
Virgin. 

Nearly  contemporary  with  this  fine  series  is  that  by  Pin- 
turicchio  in  the  church  of  S.  Maria  del  Popolo,  at  Rome  (in 
the  third  chapel  on  the  right).  It  is  comprised  in  five  lunettes 
round  the  ceiling,  beginning  with  the  Birth  of  the  Virgin,  and 
is  remarkable  for  its  elegance. 

About  forty  years  after  this  series  was  completed  the  people 
of  Siena,  who  had  always  been  remarkable  for  their  devotion 
to  the  Virgin,  dedicated  to  her  honor  the  beautiful  little  chapel 
called  the  Oratory  of  San  Bernardino,'3  near  the  church  of  San 
Francesco,  and  belonging  to  the  same  Order,  the  Franciscans. 

1  [The  reference  is  to  Mrs.  Jameson's  projected  [dan  for  writing  a  volume  on 
the  "Life  of  our  Lord  and  St.  John  the  Baptist,"  upon  which  she  was  engaged 
at  the  time  of  her  death.] 

-  See  the  Ancient  Florentine  Matters. 

*  Vide  Let/ends  of  the  Monastic  Orders,  p.  .304. 


5  (J 

3  4 

1  2 


52 


LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 


This  chapel  is  an  exact  parallelogram,  and  the  frescoes  which 
cover  the  four  walls  are  thus  arranged  above  the  wainscot, 
which  rises  about  eight  feet  from  the  ground. 

1.  Opposite  the  door  as  we  enter,  the  Birth  of  the  Virgin. 
The  usual  visitor  to  St.  Anna  is  here  a  grand  female  figure,  in 
voluminous  drapery.  The  delight  and  exultation  of  those  who 
minister  to  the  new-born  Infant  are  expressed  with  the  most 
graceful  naivete.  This  beautiful  composition  should  be  com- 
pared with  those  of  Ghirlandajo  and  Andrea  del  Sarto  in  the 
Annunziata  at  Florence ;  *  it  yields  to  neither  as  a  conception, 
and  is  wholly  different.  It  is  the  work  of  a  Sienese  painter 
little  known  —  Girolamo  del  Pacchia. 

2.  The  Presentation  in  the  Temple,  by  G.  A.  Razzi.       The 

principal  scene  is  placed  in  the  back- 
ground, and  the  little  Madonna  as 
she  ascends  the  steps  is  received 
by  the  High  Priest  and  Anna  the 
prophetess.  Her  father  and  mother 
and  groups  of  spectators  fill  the 
foreground  ;  here,  too,  is  a  very 
noble  female  figure  on  the  right ; 
but  the  whole  composition  is  man- 
nered, and  wants  repose  and  reli- 
gious feeling. 

3.  The  Sposalizio,  by  Beccafunii. 
The  ceremony  takes  place  after  the 
manner  of  the  Jews,  outside  the 
Temple.  In  a  mannered,  artificial 
style. 

4,  5.  On  one  side  of  the  altar, 
the  Angel  Gabriel  floating  in  —  very  majestic  and  angelic  ;  on 
the  other  side  the  Virgin  Annunziata,  with  that  attitude  and 
expression  so  characteristic  of  the  Siena  school,  as  if  shrinking 
from  the  apparition.2  These  also  are  by  Girolamo  del  Pacchia, 
and  extremely  fine. 

6.  The  enthroned  Virgin  and  Child,  by  Beccafumi.  The 
Virgin  is  very  fine  and  majestic ;   around  her  throne  stand  and 


4 

G 

5 

+ 

Altar 

3                                                  7 

o 
g 

s 

« 

1          8 

m 

s 

t 

1                      |                      9 

10 

1  This  series,  painted  by  Andrea  and  his  scholars  and  companions,  Francia- 
6igio  and  Pontormo,  is  very  remarkable  as  a  work  of  Art,  but  presents  nothing 
new  in  regard  to  the  choice  and  treatment  of  the  subjects. 

2  [Compare  Simone  Memmi's  Annunciation  in  the  Uilizi,  Florence.] 


INTRODUCTION  53 

kneel  the  guardian  saints  of  Siena  and  the  Franciscan  Order : 
St.  Francis,  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  St.  Bernardino,  St.  Catherine 
of  Siena,  St.  Ansano,  St.  John  B.,  St.  Louis.  (St.  Catherine, 
as  patroness  of  Siena,  takes  here  the  place  usually  given  to 
St.  Clara  in  the  Franciscan  pictures.) 

7.  The  Visitation.  Very  fine  and  rather  peculiar  ;  for  here 
Elizabeth  bends  over  Mary  as  welcoming  her,  while  the  other 
inclines  her  head  as  accepting  hospitality.     By  Bazzi.1 

8.  The  Death  of  the  Virgin.  Fourteen  figures,  among 
which  are  four  females  lamenting,  and  St.  John  bearing  the 
palm.  The  attitude  and  expression  of  Mary  composed  in 
death,  are  very  fine ;  and  Christ,  instead  of  standing,  as  usual, 
by  the  couch,  with  her  parting  soul  in  his  arms,  comes  rushing 
down  from  above  with  arms  outspread  to  receive  it. 

9.  The  Assumption.  Mary,  attired  all  in  white,  rises  ma- 
jestically. The  tomb  is  seen  beneath,  out  of  which  grow  two 
tall  lilies  amid  white  roses ;  the  Apostles  surround  it,  and  St. 
Thomas  receives  the  girdle.  This  is  one  of  the  finest  works 
of  Bazzi,  and  one  of  the  purest  in  point  of  sentiment. 

10.  The  Coronation,  covering  the  whole  wall  which  faces 
the  altar,  is  by  Razzi ;  it  is  very  peculiar  and  characteristic. 
The  Virgin  all  in  white,  and  extremely  fine,  bending  grace- 
fully, receives  her  crown ;  the  other  figures  have  that  vulgarity 
of  expression  which  belonged  to  the  artist,  and  is  often  so 
oddly  mingled  with  the  sentiment  and  grandeur  of  his  school 
and  time.  On  the  right  of  the  principal  group  stands  St.  John 
B. ;  on  the  left,  Adam  and  Eve ;  and  behind  the  Virgin,  her 
mother,  St.  Anna,  which  is  quite  peculiar,  and  the  only  in- 
stance I  can  remember. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  Life  of  the  Virgin  may,  whether 
treated  as  a  devotional  or  historical  series,  form  a  kind  of  pic- 
tured drama  in  successive  scenes  ;  sometimes  comprising  only 
six  or  eight  of  the  principal  events  of  her  individual  life,  as 
her  birth,  dedication,  marriage,  death,  and  assumption  :  some- 
times extending  to  forty  or  fifty  subjects,  and  combining  her 
history  with  that  of  her  Divine  Son.  I  may  now  direct  the 
attention  of  the  reader  to  a  few  other  instances  remarkable 
for  their  beauty  and  celebrity. 

1  [According  to  Layard'a  Revision  of  Kugler's  Handbook,  tho  name  is  cor- 
rectly written  Bazzi.] 


54  LEGENDS    OF   THE   MADONNA 

Giotto,  1320.  In  the  chapel  at  Padua  styled  la  Capella 
dell'  Arena.  One  of  the  finest  and  most  complete  examples 
extant,  combining  the  Life  of  the  Virgin  with  that  of  her  Son. 
This  series  is  of  the  highest  value,  a  number  of  scenes  and 
situations  suggested  by  the  Scriptures  being  here  either  ex- 
pressed for  the  first  time,  or  in  a  form  unknown  in  the  Greek 
school.1 

Agnolo  Gaddi,  1380.  The  series  in  the  cathedral  at  Prato. 
These  comprise  the  history  of  the  Holy  Girdle. 

Andrea  Orcagna,  1373.  The  beautiful  series  of  bas-reliefs 
on  the  shrine  in  Or  San  Michele,  at  Florence. 

Niccolo  da  Modena,  1450.  Perhaps  the  earliest  engraved  ex- 
ample :  very  remarkable  for  the  elegance  of  the  motifs  and  the 
imperfect  execution,  engraving  on  copper  being  then  a  new  art. 

Albert  Diirer.  The  beautiful  and  well-known  set  of  twenty- 
five  woodcuts,  published  in  1510.  A  perfect  example  of  the 
German  treatment.2 

Bernardino  Luini,  1515.  A  series  of  frescoes  of  the  highest 
beauty,  painted  for  the  monastery  Delia  Pace.  Unhappily  we 
have  only  the  fragments,  which  are  preserved  in  the  Brera. 

The  series  of  bas-reliefs  on  the  outer  shrine  of  the  Casa  di 
Loretto,  by  Sansovino,  and  others  of  the  greatest  sculptors  of 
the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  series  of  bas-reliefs  round  the  choir  at  Milan  :  seventeen 
subjects. 

We  often  find  the  Seven  Joys  and  the  Seven  Sorrows  of  the 
Virgin  treated  as  a  series. 

The  Seven  Joys  are  the  Annunciation,  the  Visitation,  the 
Nativity,  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  the  Presentation  in  the 
Temple,  Christ  found  by  his  Mother,  the  Assumption,  and 
Coronation. 

1  Vide,  Kugler's  Handbook,  p.  89  et  seq.  He  observes  that  "the  introduction 
of  the  maid-servant  spinning,  in  the  story  of  St.  Anna,  oversteps  the  limits  of 
the  higher  ecclesiastical  style."  For  an  explanation  I  must  refer  to  the  story  as 
I  have  given  it.  See,  for  the  distribution  of  the  subjects  in  this  chapel,  Lord 
Lindsay's  Christian  Art,  vol.  ii.  A  set  of  the  subjects  has  since  been  published 
by  the  Arundel  Society  [18l!0]. 

2  [In  Dr.  Thausing's  minute  and  exhaustive  work  on  the  Life  of  Albert  Diirer 
the  date  of  the  publication  of  the  Life  of  the  Virgin  is  fixed  at  1511,  and  the 
number  of  woodcuts  is  given  as  twenty,  each  one  being  briefly  described.  The 
catalogue  of  Bartsch  gives  fuller  descriptions  of  the  entire  series.] 


INTRODUCTION  55 

The  Seven  Sorrows  are  the  Prophecy  of  Simeon,  the  Flight 
into  Egypt,  Christ  lost  by  his  Mother,  the  Betrayal  of  Christ, 
the  Crucifixion  (with  St.  John  and  the  Virgin  only  present), 
the  Deposition" from  the  Cross,  the  Ascension  when  the  Virgin 
is  left  on  earth. 

The  Seven  Joys  and  Sorrows  are  frequently  found  in  altar 
pieces  and  religious  prints,  arranged  in  separate  compartments, 
round  the  Madonna  in  the  centre.  Or  they  are  combined  in 
various  groups  into  one  large  composition,  as  in  a  famous  pic- 
ture by  Hans  Mending,  wonderful  for  the  poetry,  expression, 
and  finished  execution.1 

Another  cycle  of  subjects  consists  of  the  fifteen  Mysteries  of 
the  Rosary. 

The  five  Joyful  Mysteries  are  the  Annunciation,  the  Visi- 
tation, the  Nativity,  the  Purification,  and  Christ  found  in  the 
Temple. 

The  five  Dolorous  or  Sorrowful  Mysteries  are  our  Lord  in 
the  Garden  of  Olives,  the  Flagellation,  Christ  crowned  with 
Thorns,  the  Procession  to  Calvary,  the  Crucifixion. 

The  five  Glorious  Mysteries  are  the  Resurrection,  the  As- 
cension, the  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Assumption,  the 
Coronation. 

A  series  of  subjects  thus  arranged  cannot  be  called  strictly 
historical,  but  partakes  of  the  mystical  and  devotional  charac- 
ter. The  purpose  being  to  excite  devout  meditation,  requires 
a  particular  sentiment,  frequently  distinguished  from  the  merely 
dramatic  and  historical  treatment  in.  being  accompanied  by 
saints,  votaries,  and  circumstances  purely  ideal ;  as  where  the 
Wise  Men  bring  their  offerings,  where  St.  Luke  sits  in  a  cor- 
ner painting  the  portrait  of  the  Virgin,  and  St.  Dominick 
kneels  in  adoration  of  the  Mystery  (Mabuse,  Munich  Gal- 
lery) ; 2  and  in  a  hundred  other  examples. 

1  Altogether,  on  a  careful  consideration  of  this  picture,  I  do  not  consider  the 
title  by  which  it  is  generally  known  as  appropriate.  It  contains  many  groups 
which  would  not  enter  into  the  mystic  joys  or  sorrows  ;  for  instance,  the  Massacre 
of  the  Innocents,  Christ  at  Emmaus,  the  Noli  me  tant^ere,  and  others.  [Memling's 
Seven  Joys  is  in  the  old  1'inakothek,  at  Munich;  the  Seven  Sorrows,  in  the 
Turin  Gallery.  The  former  has  been  called  by  Weale,  the  "  Light  of  the  World," 
and  by  Michielis,  the  "Triumph  of  Christ."] 

'2  [There  is  no  picture  of  this  description  attributed  to  Mabusa  in  the  current 
(1S94)  official  catalogue  of  the  Munich  Gallery.] 


56  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

IV.  Titles  of  the  Virgin  Mary 

Of  the  various  titles  given  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  thence 
to  certain  effigies  and  pictures  of  her,  some  appear  to  me  very 
touching,  as  expressive  of  the  wants,  the  aspirations,  the  infirm- 
ities and  sorrows,  which  are  common  to  poor  suffering  human- 
ity, or  of  those  divine  attributes  from  which  they  hope  to  find 
aid  and  consolation.      Thus  we  have  — 

Santa  Maria  "  del  buon  Consilio."  Our  Lady  of  good 
Counsel. 

S.  M.  "  del  Soccorso."  Our  Lady  of  Succor.  Our  Lady  of 
the  Forsaken. 

S.  M.  "  del  buon  Core."     Our  Lady  of  good  Heart. 

S.  M.  "  della  Grazia."     Our  Lady  of  Grace. 

S.  M.  "di  Misericordia."     Our  Lady  of  Mercy. 

S.  M.  "Auxilium  Afflictorum."     Help  of  the  Afflicted. 

S.  M.  "  Refugium  Peccatorum."     -Refuge  of  Sinners. 

S.  M.  "  del  Pianto,"  «  del  Dolore."  Our  Lady  of  Lamen- 
tation, or  Sorrow. 

S.  M.  "  Consolatrice,"  "  della  Consolazione,"  or  "  del  Con- 
forto."     Our  Lady  of  Consolation. 

S.  M.  "  della  Speranza."     Our  Lady  of  Hope. 

Under  these  and  similar  titles  she  is  invoked  by  the  afflicted, 
and  often  represented  with  her  ample  robe  outspread  and  up- 
held by  angels,  with  votaries  and  suppliants  congregated  beneath 
its  folds.  In  Spain,  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Merced  is  the  pa- 
troness of  the  Order  of  Mercy  ;  and  in  this  character  she  often 
holds  in  her  hand  small  tablets  bearing  the  badge  of  the  Order.1 

S.  M.  "  della  Liberta,"  or  "  Liberatrice,"  Our  Lady  of  Lib- 
erty ;  and  S.  M.  "  della  Catena,"  our  Lady  of  Fetters.  In  this 
character  she  is  invoked  by  prisoners  and  captives. 

S.  M.  «  del  Parto."  Our  Lady  of  Good  Delivery,  invoked 
by  women  in  travail.2 

1  See  Ler/end.t  of  the  Monastic  Orders,  p.  243. 

2  Dante  alludes  to  her  in  this  character:  — 

E  per  ventura  udi  "  Dolce  Maria  !  " 

Dinanzi  a  noi  chiamar  eosi  ml  pianto 

Come  fa  donna  che  'n  partorir  sia. —  Purr/,  c.  xx. 

[And  midst  the  wailing,  one.  before  us  heard 
Cry  out,  "0  blessed  Virgin,"  as  a  dame 
In  the  sharp  pangs  of  childbed. 

Gary's  Translation.] 


INTRODUCTION  57 

S.  M.  "del  Popolo."     Our  Lady  of  the  People. 

S.  M.  "  della  Yittoria."     Our  Lady  of  Victory. 

S.  M.  "  della  Pace."      Our  Lady  of  Peace. 

S.  M.  "  della  Sapienza,"  Our  Lady  of  Wisdom ;  and  S.  M. 
"  della  Perseveranza,"  Our  Lady  of  Perseverance.  (Some- 
times placed  in  colleges,  with  a  book  in  her  hand,  as  patroness 
of  students.) 

S.  M.  "della  Salute."  Our  Lady  of  Health  or  Salvation. 
Under  this  title  pictures  and  churches  have  been  dedicated 
after  the  cessation  of  a  plague,  or  any  other  public  calamity.1 

Other  titles  are  derived  from  particular  circumstances  and 
accessories,  as  — 

S.  M.  "  del  Presepio."  Our  Lady  of  the  Cradle  ;  generally 
a  Nativity,  or  when  she  is  adoring  her  Child. 

S.  M.  "  della  Scodella  "  —  with  the  cup  or  porringer,  where 
she  is  taking  water  from  a  fountain  ;   generally  a  Riposo. 

S.  M.  "  dell'  Libro,"  where  she  holds  the  Book  of  Wis- 
dom. 

S.  M.  «  della  Cintola."  Our  Lady  of  the  Girdle  ;  where 
she  is  either  giving  the  Girdle  to  St.  Thomas,  or  where  the 
Child  holds  it  in  his  hand. 

S.  M.  "  della  Lettera."  Our  Lady  of  the  Letter.  This  is 
the  title  given  to  Our  Lady  as  protectress  of  the  city  of  Mes- 
sina. According  to  the  Sicilian  legend  she  honored  the  people 
of  Messina  by  writing  a  letter  to  them,  dated  from  Jerusalem, 
"in  the  year  of  her  Son,  42."  In  the  effigies  of  the  "Ma- 
donna della  Lettera,"  she  holds  this  letter  in  her  hand. 

S.  M.  "  della  Rosa."  Our  Lady  of  the  Pose.  A  title 
given  to  several  pictures  in  which  the  rose,  which  is  conse- 
crated to  her,  is  placed  either  in  her  hand  or  in  that  of  the 
Child. 

S.  M.  "della  Stella."  Our  Lady  of  the  Star.  She  wears 
the  star  as  one  of  her  attributes  embroidered  on  her  mantle. 

S.  M.  "  del  Fiore."  Our  Lady  of  the  Flower.  She  has 
this  title  especially  as  protectress  of  Florence. 

S.  M.  "della  Spina."  She  holds  in  her  hand  the  crown  of 
thorns,  and  under  this  title  is  the  protectress  of  Pisa. 

S.  M.  "del  Rosario."  Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary,  with  the 
mystic  string  of  beads.      I  do  not  remember  any  instance  of 

1  There  is  also  somewhere  in  France  a  chapel  dedicated  to  Notre  Dame  de  la 
Ilaine. 


58  LEGENDS   OF  THE   MADONNA 

the  Rosary  placed  in  the  hand  of  the  Virgin  or  the  Child  till 
after  the  battle  of  Lepanto  (1571),  and  the  institution  of  the 
Festival  of  the  Rosary,  as  an  act  of  thanksgiving.  After  this 
time  pictures  of  the  Madonna  "  del  Rosario "  abound,  and 
may  generally  be  found  in  the  Dominican  churches.  There  is 
a  famous  example  by  Guido  in  the  Bologna  Gallery,  and  a  very 
beautiful  one  by  Murillo  in  the  Dulwich  Gallery. 

S.  M.  "  del  Carmine."  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel.  She 
is  protectress  of  the  Order  of  the  Carmelites,  and  is  often 
represented  holding  in  her  hand  small  tablets,  on  which  is  the 
effigy  of  herself  with  the  Child. 

S.  M.  "  de  Belem."  Our  Lady  of  Bethlehem.  Under  this 
title  she  is  the  patroness  of  the  Jeronymites,  principally  in 
Spain  and  Portugal. 

S.  M.  "  della  Neve."  Our  Lady  of  the  Snow.  In  Spain, 
S.  Maria  la  Blanca.  To  this  legend  of  the  snow  the  magnificent 
church  of  S.  M.  Maggiore  at  Rome  is  said  to  owe  its  origin. 
A  certain  Roman  patrician,  whose  name  was  John  (Giovanni 
Patricio),  being  childless,  prayed  of  the  Virgin  to  direct  him 
how  best  to  bestow  his  worldly  wealth.  She  appeared  to  him 
in  a  dream  on  the  night  of  the  5th  of  August,  352,  and  com- 
manded him  to  build  a  church  in  her  honor,  on  a  spot  where 
snow  would  be  found  the  next  morning.  The  same  vision  hav- 
ing appeared  to  his  wife  and  the  reigning  pope,  Liberius,  they 
repaired  in  procession  the  next  morning  to  the  summit  of  Mount 
Esquiline,  where,  notwithstanding  the  heat  of  the  weather, 
a  large  patch  of  ground  was  miraculously  covered  with  snow, 
and  on  it  Liberius  traced  out  with  his  crozier  the  plan  of  the 
church.  This  story  has  been  often  represented  in  Art,  and  is 
easily  recognized ;  but  it  is  curious  that  the  two  most  beauti- 
ful pictures  consecrated  to  the  honor  of  the  Madonna  della 
Neve  are  Spanish,  and  not  Roman,  and  were  painted  by  Murillo 
about  the  time  that  Philip  IV.  of  Spain  sent  rich  offerings  to 
the  church  of  S.  M.  Maggiore,  thus  giving  a  kind  of  popularity 
to  the  legend.  The  picture  represents  the  patrician  John  and 
his  wife  asleep,  and  the  vision  of  the  Virgin  (one  of  the  love- 
liest ever  painted  by  Murillo)  breaking  upon  them  in  splendor 
through  the  darkness  of  the  night ;  while  in  the  dim  distance  is 
seen  the  Esquiline  (or  what  is  meant  for  it)  covered  with 
snow.  In  the  second  picture,  John  and  his  wife  are  kneeling 
before  the  pope,  "  a  grand  old  ecclesiastic,  like  one  of  Titian's 


INTRODUCTION  59 

pontiffs."  These  pictures,  after  being  carried  off  by  the  French 
from  the  little  church  of  S.  M.  la  Blanca  at  Seville,  are  now 
in  the  Royal  Gallery  at  Madrid. 

S.  Maria  "  di  Loretto."  Our  Lady  of  Loretto.  The  ori- 
gin of  this  title  is  the  famous  legend  of  the  Santa  Casa,  the 
house  at  Nazareth,  which  was  the  birthplace  of  the  Virgin 
and  the  scene  of  the  Annunciation.  During  the  incursions  of 
the  Saracens,  the  Santa  Casa,  being  threatened  with  profana- 
tion, if  not  destruction,  was  taken  up  by  the  angels  and  con- 
veyed over  land  and  sea  till  it  was  set  down  on  the  coast  of 
Dalmatia  ;  but  not  being  safe  there,  the  angels  again  took  it 
up,  and,  bearing  it  over  the  Adriatic,  set  it  down  in  a  grove 
near  Loretto.  But  certain  wicked  brigands  having  disturbed  its 
sacred  quietude  by  strife  and  murder,  the  house  again  changed 
its  place,  and  was  at  length  set  down  on  the  spot  where  it 
now  stands.      The  date  of  this  miracle  is  placed  in  1295. 

The  Madonna  di  Loretto  is  usually  represented  as  seated  with 
the  Divine  Child  on  the  roof  of  a  house,  which  is  sustained  at 
the  corners  by  four  angels,  and  thus  borne  over  sea  and  land. 
From  the  celebrity  of  Loretto  as  a  place  of  pilgrimage,  this 
representation  became  popular,  and  is  often  found  in  chapels 
dedicated  to  our  Lady  of  Loretto.  Another  effigy  of  our 
Lady  of  Loretto  is  merely  a  copy  of  a  very  old  Greek  "  Virgin 
and  Child,"  which  is  enshrined  in  the  Santa  Casa. 

S.  M.  "del  Pillar,"  Our  Lady  of  the  Pillar,  is  protectress 
of  Saragossa.  According  to  the  legend,  she  descended  from 
heaven  standing  on  an  alabaster  pillar,  and  thus  appeared  to 
St.  James  (Santiago)  when  he  was  preaching  the  gospel  in 
Spain.  The  miraculous  pillar  is  preserved  in  the  cathedral  of 
Saragossa,  and  the  legend  appears  frequently  in  Spanish  Art. 
Also  in  a  very  inferior  picture  by  Niccolo  Poussin,  now  in  the 
Louvre. 

Some  celebrated  pictures  are  individually  distinguished  by 
titles  derived  from  some  particular  object  in  the  composition, 
as  Raphael's  Madonna  del  Empannata,]  so  called  from  the  win- 
dow in  tin'  background  being  partly  shaded  with  a  piece  of 
linen:      (In  the  Pitti  Palace,  Florence.)    Correggio's  Vicrge  au 

1  [The  authenticity  of  this  picture  is  doubtful.  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle  con- 
sider it  the  combined  work  of  Raphael  and  Giulio  Romano.  Vide  l:n/>hael,  ii- 
note  on  page  17-i.J 


60  LEGENDS   OF   THE   MADONNA 

Panier,  so  called  from  the  workbasket  which  stands  beside 
her  (in  our  National  Gallery)  ;  Murillo's  Virgen  de  la  Servil- 
leta,  the  Virgin  of  the  Napkin  [Seville],  in  allusion  to  the  din- 
ner-napkin on  which  it  was  painted.1  Others  are  denominated 
from  certain  localities,  as  [Raphael's]  Madonna  di  Foligno 
(now  in  the  Vatican)  ;  others  from  the  names  of  families 
to  whom  they  have  belonged,  as  [Raphael's]  Madonna  della 
Famiglia  Staffa,2  at  Perugia. 

Those  visions  and  miracles  with  which  the  Virgin  Mary 
favored  many  of  the  saints,  as  St.  Luke  (who  was  her  secre- 
tary and  painter),  St.  Catherine,  St.  Francis,  St.  Herman,  and 
others,  have  already  been  related  in  the  former  volumes,  and 
need  not  be  repeated  here. 

With  regard  to  the  churches  dedicated  to  the  Virgin,  I  shall 
not  attempt  to  enumerate  even  the  most  remarkable,  as  almost 
every  town  in  Christian  Europe  contains  one  or  more  bearing 
her  name.  The  most  ancient  of  which  tradition  speaks  was  a 
chapel  beyond  the  Tiber,  at  Rome,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
founded  in  217,  on  the  site  where  S.  Maria-in-Trastevere  now 
stands.  But  there  are  one  or  two  which  carry  their  preten- 
sions much  higher ;  for  the  cathedral  at  Toledo  and  the  cathe- 
dral at  Chartres  both  claim  the  honor  of  having  been  dedicated 
to  the  Virgin  while  she  was  yet  alive.3  The  Borghese  chapel 
in  the  church  of  S.  Maria  Maggiore  at  Rome  was  dedicated 
to  the  honor  of  the  Virgin  Mary  by  Paul  V.  in  1611  —  the 
same  pope  who  in  1615  promulgated  the  famous  bull  relative 
to  the  Immaculate  Conception.  The  scheme  of  decoration  in 
this  gorgeous  chapel  is  very  remarkable,  as  testifying  to  the 
development  which  the  theological  idea  of  the  Virgin,  as  the 
Sposa  or  personified  Church,  had  attained  at  this  period,  and 
because  it  is  not,  as  in  other  examples,  either  historical  or  de- 
votional, but  purely  doctrinal. 

As   we   enter,  the  profusion    of  ornament,  the  splendor   of 

1  There  is  a  beautiful  engraving  in  Stirling-Maxwell's  Annals  of  the  Artists 
of  t>/)/iin. 

2  [Now  in  the  Hermitage  of  St.  Petersburg,  having  been  purchased  (1871)  of 
the  Count  Scipione  Connestabile  by  the  emperor  <>f  Russia.  It  is  usually  called 
the  I  ionaestabile  Madonna.] 

8  In  England  we  have  2,120  churches  dedicated  in  her  honor;  and  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  important  of  the  London  parishes  bears  her  name  —  "  St.  Marie- 
la-bonne  '  [MaryleboneJ. 


INTRODUCTION  61 

color,  marbles,  gilding,  from  the  pavement  under  our  feet  to  the 
summit  of  the  lofty  dome,  are  really  dazzling.  First,  and  ele- 
vated above  all,  we  have  the  "  Madonna  della  Concezione,"  Our 
Lady  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  in  a  glory  of  light,  sus- 
tained and  surrounded  by  angels,  having  the  crescent  under  her 
feet,  according  to  the  approved  treatment.  Beneath,  round 
the  dome,  we  read  in  conspicuous  letters,  the  text  from  the 
the  Revelation  :  "  Signum  •  Magnum  ■  Apparavit  ■  in  Coelo  ■ 
Mulier  ■  Amicta  ■  Sole  •  et  Luna  ■  Sub  ■  Pedibus  ■  Ejus  .  et  In 
Capite  •  Ejus  ■  Corona  •  Stellarum  ■  Duodecim  "  (Rev.  xii.  1). 
Lower  down  is  a  second  inscription,  expressing  the  dedication. 
"  Mariae  ■  Christi  ■  Matri  •  Semper  ■  Virgini  ■  Paulus  ■  Quintus  • 
P.  M."  The  decorations  beneath  the  cornice  consist  of 
eighteen  large  frescoes,  and  six  statues  in  marble,  above  life 
size.  Beginning  with  the  frescoes  we  have  the  subjects  arranged 
in  the  following  order  :  — 

1.  The  four  great  prophets,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and 
Daniel,  in  their  usual  place  in  the  four  pendatives  of  the  dome. 

2.  Two  large  frescoes.  In  the  first,  the  Vision  of  St.  Gre- 
gory Thaumaturgus  x  and  heretics  bitten  by  serpents.  In  the 
second  St.  John  Damascene  and  St.  Ildefonso  miraculously  re- 
warded for  defending  the  Majesty  of  the  Virgin. 

3.  A  large  fresco,  representing  the  four  Doctors  of  the 
Church,  who  had  especially  written  in  honor  of  the  Virgin  : 
viz.,  Irenaeus  and  Cyprian,  Ignatius  and  Theophilus,  grouped 
two  and  two. 

4.  St.  Luke,  who  painted  the  Virgin,  and  whose  Gospel 
contains  the  best  account  of  her. 

5.  As  spiritual  conquerors  in  the  name  of  the  Virgin,  St. 
Do  mi  nick  and  St.  Francis,  each  attended  by  two  companions 
of  his  Order. 

6.  As  military  conquerors  in  the  name  of  the  Virgin,  the 
Emperor  Heraclius,  and  Xarses,  the  general  against  the  Arians. 

7.  A  group  of  three  female  figures,  representing  the  three 
famous  saintly  princesses  who  in  marriage  preserved  their  vir- 
ginity, Pulcheria,  Edeltruda  (our  famous  queen  Ethelreda), 
and  Cunegunda.  (See  Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders,  pp. 
93,  200.) 

1  St.  Gregory  Thaumaturgus,  bishop  of  Pontus  in  the  third  century,  was 
favored  by  a  vision  of  the  Trinity  which  enabled  him  to  confute  and  utterly 
subdue  the  Sabellian  heretics,  the  Unitarians  of  his  time. 


62  LEGENDS    OF   THE   MADONNA 

8.  A  group  of  three  learned  Bishops  who  had  especially  de- 
fended the  immaculate  purity  of  the  Virgin,  St.  Cyril,  St.  An- 
selm,  and  St.  Denis  (?). 

9.  The  miserable  ends  of  those  who  were  opposed  to  the 
honor  of  the  Virgin.  1.  The  death  of  Julian  the  Apostate, 
very  oddly  represented  ;  he  lies  on  an  altar,  transfixed  by  an 
arrow,  as  a  victim  ;  St.  Mercurius  in  the  air.  2.  The  death  of 
Leo  IV.  who  destroyed  the  effigies  of  the  Virgin.  3.  The 
death  of  Constantine  IV.,  also  a  famous  iconoclast. 

The  statues  which  are  placed  in  niches  are  :  — 

1,  2.  St.  Joseph  as  the  nominal  husband,  and  St.  John  as 
the  nominal  son  of  the  Virgin  ;  the  latter,  also,  as  prophet 
and  poet,  with  reference  to  the  passage  in  the  Revelation, 
chapter  xii.  1. 

3,  4.  Aaron,  as  priestly  ancestor  (because  his  wand  blos- 
somed), and  David,  as  kingly  ancestor  of  the  Virgin. 

5,  6.  St.  Dionysius,  the  Areopagite  who  was  present  at  the 
death  of  the  Virgin  (see  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  p.  698), 
and  St.  Bernard  who  composed  the  famous  Salve  Regina,  in 
her  honor. 

Such  is  this  grand  systematic  scheme  of  decoration,  which, 
to  those  who  regard  it  cursorily,  is  merely  a  sumptuous  con- 
fusion of  colors  and  forms,  or  at  best  "  a  fine  example  of  the 
Guido  school  and  Bernino."  It  is  altogether  a  very  complete 
and  magnificent  specimen  of  the  prevalent  style  of  Art,  and  a- 
very  comprehensive  and  suggestive  expression  of  the  prevalent 
tendency  of  thought  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  from  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  no  description  of 
this  chapel  have  I  ever  seen  the  names  and  subjects  accurately 
given  :  the  style  of  Art  belongs  to  the  decadence,  and  the  taste 
being  worse  than  questionable,  the  pervading  doctrinal  idea  has 
been  neglected  or  never  understood.1 

Brief  and  inadequate  as  are  these  introductory  notices,  they 
will,  I  hope,  facilitate  the  comprehension  of  the  critical  de- 
tails into  which  it  has  been  necessary  to  enter  in  the  following 
pages,  and  lend  some  new  interest  to  the  subjects  described.  I 
have  heard  the  artistic  treatment  of  the  Madonna  styled  a  mo- 
notonous theme ;   and  to  those  who  see  only  the  perpetual  iter- 

1  [This  description  of  the  Borghese  chapel  was  added  by  Mrs.  Jameson  in  a 
later  edition.] 


INTRODUCTION  63 

ation  of  the  same  groups  on  the  walls  of  churches  and  galler- 
ies, varied  as  they  may  suppose  only  by  the  fancy  of  the  painter, 
it  may  seem  so.  But  beyond  the  visible  forms,  there  lies 
much  that  is  suggestive  to  a  thinking  mind  —  to  the  lover 
of  Art  a  higher  significance,  a  deeper  beauty,  a  more  various 
interest,  than  could  at  first  be   imagined. 

In  fact,  the  greatest  mistakes  in  point  of  taste  arise  in  gen- 
eral from  not  knowing  what  Ave  ought  to  demand  of  the  artist, 
not  only  in  regard  to  the  subject  expressed,  but  with  reference 
to  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  and  his  own  individuality.  An 
axiom  which  I  have  heard  confidently  set  forth,  that  a  picture 
is  worth  nothing  unless  "  he  who  runs  may  read,"  has  inun- 
dated the  world  with  frivolous  and  pedantic  criticism.  A  pic- 
ture or  any  other  work  of  Art  is  worth  nothing  except  in  so 
far  as  it  has  emanated  from  mind,  and  is  addressed  to  mind. 
It  should,  indeed,  be  read  like  a  book.  Pictures,  as  it  has 
been  well  said,  are  the  books  of  the  unlettered,  but  then  we 
must  at  least  understand  the  language  in  which  they  are  writ- 
ten. And  further  —  if,  in  the  old  times,  it  was  a  species  of 
idolatry  to  regard  these  beautiful  representations  as  endued 
with  a  specific  sanctity  and  power ;  so,  in  these  days,  it  is  a 
sort  of  atheism  to  look  upon  them  reckless  of  their  signifi- 
cance, regardless  of  the  influences  through  which  they  were 
produced,  without  acknowledgment  of  the  mind  which  called 
them  into  being,  without  reference  to  the  intention  of  the 
artist  in  his  own  creation. 


II.     DEVOTIONAL  SUBJECTS 
PART  I.    THE  VIRGIN  WITHOUT  THE  CHILD 

The  Virgin  Mary 

Lat.  1.  Virgo  Gloriosa.  2.  Virgo  Sponsa  Dei.  3.  Virgo  Potens. 
4.  Virgo  Veneranda.  5.  Virgo  Prsedicanda.  6.  Virgo  Clemens. 
7.  Virgo  Sapientissima.  8.  Sancta  Virgo  Virginian.  Ital.  La 
Vergine  Gloriosa.  La  Gran  Vergine  delle  Vergini.  Fr.  La 
Grande  Vierge. 

There  are  representations  of  the  Virgin,  and  among  them 
some  of  the  earliest  in  existence,  which  place  her  before  us  as 
an  object  of  religious  veneration,  but  in  which  the  predominant 
idea  is  not  that  of  her  maternity.  No  doubt  it  was  as  the 
mother  of  the  Saviour  Christ  that  she  was  originally  venerated ; 
but  in  the  most  ancient  monuments  of  the  Christian  faith,  the 
sarcophagi,  the  rude  paintings  in  the  catacombs,  and  the 
mosaics  executed  before  the  seventh  century,  she  appears 
simply  as  a  veiled  female  figure,  not  in  any  respect  character- 
ized. She  stands  in  a  subordinate  position  on  one  side  of 
Christ ;   St.  Peter  or  St.  John  the  Baptist  on  the  other. 

When  the  worship  of  the  Virgin  came  to  us  from  the  East, 
with  it  came  the  Greek  type  —  and  for  ages  we  had  no  other 
—  the  Greek  classical  type,  with  something  of  the  Oriental  or 
Egyptian  character.  When  thus  she  stands  before  us  without 
her  Son,  and  the  apostles  or  saints  on  each  side  taking  the 
subordinate  position,  then  we  are  to  regard  her  not  only  as  the 
mother  of  Christ,  but  as  the  second  Eve,  the  mother  of  all 
suffering  humanity ;  The  Woman  of  the  primeval  prophecy 
whose  issue  was  to  bruise  the  head  of  the  Serpent ;  the  Virgin 
predestined  from  the  beginning  of  the  world ;  who  was  to 
bring  forth  the  Redeemer  of  the  world ;  the  mystical  Spouse 
of  the  Canticles;  the  glorified  Bride  of  a  celestial  liridcgroom ; 
the  received  Type  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  afflicted  on  earth, 
triumphant  and  crowned  in  heaven ;   the  most  glorious,  most 


THE   VIRGIN   MARY 


65 


pure,  most  pious,  most  clement,  most  sacred  Queen  and  Mother, 
Virgin  of  Virgins. 

The  form  under  which  we  find  this  grand  and  mysterious 
idea  of  glorified  womanhood  originally  embodied  is  wonder- 
fully majestic  and  simple.  A  female  figure  of  colossal  dimen- 
sions, far  exceeding  in  proportion  all  the  attendant  personages 
and  accessories,  stands  immediately  beneath  some  figure  or 
emblem  representing  almighty  power :  either  it  is  the  omnip- 
otent hand  stretched  out  above  her,  holding  the  crown  of 
immortality  ;  or  it  is  the  mystic  dove  which  hovers  over  her; 
or  it  is  the  half-form  of  Christ,  in  the  act  of  benediction. 

She  stands  with  arms  raised  and  extended  wide,  the  ancient 
attitude  of  prayer  ;  or  with  hands 
merely  stretched  forth,  express- 
ing admiration,  humility,  and 
devout  love.  She  is  attired  in 
an  ample  tunic  of  blue  or  white, 
with  a  white  veil  over  her  head, 
thrown  a  little  back,  and  dis- 
playing an  oval  face  with  regu- 
lar features,  mild,  dignified  — 
sometimes,  in  the  figures  of  the 
ruder  ages,  rather  stern  and 
melancholy,  from  the  inability 
of  the  artist  to  express  beauty  ; 
but  when  least  beautiful,  and 
most  formal  and  motionless,  al- 
ways retaining  something  of  the 
original  conception,  and  often 
inexpressibly  striking  and  ma- 
jestic. 

The  earliest  figure  of  this 
character  to  which  I  can  refer 
18  the  mosaic  in  the  oratory  of 
San  Venanzio,  in  the  Lateran, 
the  work  of  Greek  artists  under 
the  popes  John  IV.  and  Theodoras,  both  Greeks  by  birth, 
and  who  presided  over  the  Church  from  <>40  to  649.  In  the 
vault  of  the  tribune,  over  the  altar,  we  have  first,  at  the  sum- 
mit, a  figure  of  Christ  half  length,  with  his  hand  extended  in 
benediction;    on    each   side,  a  worshipping  angel;    below,   in 


The  Virgin  (Mosaic) 


66  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

the  centre,  the  figure  of  the  Virgin  according  to  the  ancient 
type,  standing  with  extended  arms,  in  a  violet  or  rather  dark 
hlue  tunic  and  white  veil,  with  a  small  cross  pendant  on  her 
bosom.  On  her  right  hand  stands  St.  Paul,  on  her  left  St. 
Peter ;  beyond  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  St.  John  the  Baptist 
holding  a  cross,  and  St.  John  the  Evangelist  holding  a  book  ; 
and  beyond  these  again,  St.  Domnio  and  St.  Venantius,  two 
martyred  saints  who  perished  in  Dalmatia,  and  whose  relics 
were  brought  out  of  that  country  by  the  founder  of  the  chapel, 
John  IV.,  himself  a  Dalmatian  by  birth.  At  the  extremities 
of  this  group,  or  rather  line  of  figures,  stand  the  two  popes, 
John  IV.  and  Theodoras,  under  whom  the  chapel  was  founded 
and  dedicated.  Although  this  ancient  mosiac  has  been  many 
times  restored,  the  original  composition  remains. 

Similar,  but  of  later  date,  is  the  effigy  of  the  Virgin  over 
the  altar  of  the  archiepiseopal  chapel  at  Ravenna.  This 
mosaic,  with  others  of  Greek  work,  was  brought  from  the  old 
tribune  of  the  cathedral,  when  it  was  altered  and  repaired,  and 
the  ancient  decorations  removed  or  destroyed. 

Another  instance,  also,  at  Ravenna,  is  the  basso-relievo  in 
Greek  marble,  and  evidently  of  Greek  workmanship,  which 
is  said  to  have  existed  from  the  earliest  ages,  in  the  church  of 
S.  Maria-in-Porto-Fuori,  and  is  now  preserved  in  the  S.  Maria- 
in-Porto,  where  I  saw  it  in  1847.  It  is  probably  as  old  as 
the  sixth  or  seventh  century.  The  features  are  very  regu- 
lar and  beautiful,  quite  the  Greek  type. 

In  St.  Mark's  at  Venice,  in  the  grand  old  basilica  at  Tor- 
cello,  in  San  Donato  at  Murano,  at  Monreale,  near  Palermo, 
and  in  most  of  the  old  churches  in  the  East  of  Europe,  we 
find  similar  figures,  either  Byzantine  in  origin,  or  in  imitation 
of  the  Byzantine  style. 

But  about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  con- 
temporary with  Cimabue,  we  find  the  first  indication  of  a  de- 
parture, even  in  the  mosaics,  from  the  lifeless,  formal  type  of 
Byzantine  art.  The  earliest  example  of  a  more  animated  treat- 
ment is,  perhaps,  the  figure  in  the  apsis  of  St.  John  Lateran 
(Rome).  In  the  centre  is  an  immense  cross,  emblem  of  salva- 
tion;  the  four  rivers  of  Paradise  (the  four  Gospels)  flow  from  its 
base  ;  and  the  faithful,  figured  by  the  hart  and  the  sheep,  drink 
from  these  streams.  Uelow  the  cross  is  represented,  of  a  small 
size,   the  New  Jerusalem   guarded  by  an  archangel.      On  the 


THE    VIRGIN   MARY 


67 


right  stands  the  Virgin,  of  colossal  dimensions.  She  places 
one  hand  on  the  head  of  a  diminutive  kneeling  figure,  Pope 
Nicholas  IV.,1  hy  whom  the  mosaic  was  dedicated  about  12(J(J  ; 


Madonna   (attributed  to  Simone  Meinmi) 


the  other  hand,  stretched  forth,  seems  to  recommend  the  votary 
to  the  mercy  of  Christ. 

Full-length  effigies  of  the  Virgin  seated  on  a  throne,  or 
glorified  as  queen  of  heaven,  or  queen  of  angels,  without  her 
divine   Infant   in   her  arms,  arc  exceedingly  rare  in  every  age; 

1  For  a  minute  reduction  of  the  whole  composition,  see  Kugler's  Handbook, 
p.  47. 


68  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

now  and  then  to  be  met  with  in  the  early  pictures  and  illumi- 
nations, but  never,  that  I  know  of,  in  the  later  schools  of  Art. 
A  signal  example  is  the  fine  enthroned  Madonna  [attributed  to 
Simone  Memmi]  in  the  Campo  Santo  [Pisa],  who  receives  St. 
Kanieri  when  presented  by  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 

On  the  dalmatica  (or  deacon's  robe)  preserved  in  the  sac- 
risty of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  (which  Lord  Lindsay  well  describes 
as  a  perfect  example  of  the  highest  style  of  Byzantine  art),1 
the  embroidery  on  the  front  represents  Christ  in  a  golden  cir- 
cle of  glory,  robed  in  white,  with  the  youthful  and  beardless 
face,  his  eyes  looking  into  yours.  He  sits  on  the  rainbow  ; 
his  left  hand  holds  an  open  book,  inscribed,  "  Come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father ! "  while  the  right  is  raised  in  benediction. 
The  Virgin  stands  on  the  right,  entirely  within  the  glory  ;  "  she 
is  sweet  in  feature,  and  graceful  in  attitude,  in  her  long  white 
robe."     The  Baptist  stands  on  the  left,  outside  the  glory. 

In  pictures  representing  the  glory  of  heaven,  Paradise,  or 
the  Last  Judgment,  we  have  this  idea  constantly  repeated  — 
of  the  Virgin  on  the  right  hand  of  her  Son,  but  not  on  the 
same  throne  with  him,  unless  it  be  a  Coronation,  which  is  a 
subject  apart. 

In  the  great  altar-piece  2  of  the  brothers  Van  Eyck,  the  up- 
per part  contains  three  compartments  ;  3  in  the  centre  is  Christ, 
wearing  the  triple  tiara,  and  carrying  the  globe,  as  King,  as 
Priest,  as  Judge  ;  on  each  side,  as  usual,  but  in  separate  com- 
partments, the  Virgin  and  St.  John  the  Baptist.  The  Vir- 
gin, a  noble  queenly  figure,  full  of  serene  dignity  and  grace, 
is  seated  on  a  throne,  and  wears  a  superb  crown,  formed  of 
lilies,  roses,  and  gems,  over  her  long  fair  hair.  She  is  read- 
ing intently  in  a  book  —  the  Book  of  Wisdom.  She  is  here 
the  Sponsa  Dei,  and  the  Virgo  Sapientissima,  the  most  wise 
Virgin.  This  is  the  only  example  I  can  recollect  of  the  Virgin 
seated  on  the  right  hand  of  her  Son  in  glory,  and  holding  a 
book.  In  every  other  instance  she  is  standing  or  seated  with 
her  hands  joined  or  clasped  over  her  bosom,  and  her  eyes 
turned  towards  him. 


1  Christian  Art,  vol.  i.  p.  287. 

-  [The  Adoration  of  the  Lamb.  Painted  by  John  and  Hubert  van  Eyck  for 
the  church  of  St.  John  in  Ghent,  1432.] 

3  It  is  well  known  that  the  different  parts  of  this  great  work  have  been  dis- 
persed.    The  three  compartments  mentioned  here  are  at  Berlin. 


THE   VIRGIN   MARY 


69 


\lif: 


Among  innumerable  examples,  I  will  cite  only  one,  perhaps 
the  most  celebrated  of  all,  and  familiar,  it  may  be  presumed, 
to  most  of  my  readers,  though  perhaps  they  may  not  have  re- 
garded it  with  reference  to  the 
character  and  position  given  to 
the  Virgin.  It  is  one  of  the  four 
great  frescoes  of  the  Camera  della 
Segnatura,  in  the  Vatican,  exhibit- 
ing the  four  highest  objects  of 
mental  culture  —  Theology,  Po- 
etry, Philosophy,  and  Jurispru- 
dence. In  the  first  of  these,  com- 
monly, but  erroneously,  called  La 
Disputa  del  Sacramento,  Raphael 
has  combined  into  one  great  scene 
the  whole  system  of  theology  as 
set  forth  by  the  Catholic  Church  ; 
it  is  a  sort  of  concordance  between 
heaven  and  earth  —  between  the 
celestial  and  terrestrial  witnesses 
of  the  truth.  The  central  group 
above  shows  us  the  Redeemer  of 
the  world,  seated  with  extended 
arms,  having  on  the  right  the  Vir- 
gin in  her  usual  place,  and  on  the 
left,  also  in  his  accustomed  place, 
St.  John  the  Baptist ;  both  seated, 
and  nearly  on  a  level  with  Christ.  The  Baptist  is  here  in  his 
character  of  the  Precursor  sent  "  to  bear  witness  of  the  light, 
that  all  men  through  him  might  believe  "  (John  i.  7).  The 
Virgin  is  exhibited,  not  merely  as  the  Mother,  the  Sposa,  the 
Church,  but  as  Heavenly  Wisdom,  for  in  this  character  the 
Catholic  Church  has  applied  to  her  the  magnificent  passage  in 
Proverbs :  "  The  Lord  possessed  me  in  the  beginning  of  His 
way,  before  His  works  of  old.  I  was  set  up  from  everlasting, 
from  the  beginning,  or  ever  the  earth  was."  "  Then  I  was  by 
Him  as  oik;  brought  up  with  Him,  and  I  was  daily  His  de- 
light, rejoicing  always  before  Him"  (Prov.  viii.  22,  23,  30). 

Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful  than  the  serene  grace  and  the 
mingled  majesty  and  humility  in  the  figure  of  the  Virgin,  and  in 
her  countenance,  as  she  looks  up  adoring  to  the  Fountain  of  all 


Virgo  Sapientissima  (Van 
Eyck) 


70 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


light,  all  wisdom,  all  goodness.  Above  the  principal  group 
is  the  emblematical  image  of  the  Father  ;  below  is  the  holy 
Dove,  in  the  act  of  descending  to  the  earth.  The  rest  of  this 
wonderful  and  suggestive  composition  I  omit  here,  as  foreign 
to  my  subject.1 

The  Virgin  alone,  separate  from  her  Son,  standing  or  en- 
throned before  us,  simply  as  the  Vergine  Dea  or  Regina  Coeli, 
is  rarely  met  with  in  modern  Art,  either  in  sculpture  or  paint- 
ing.     I  will  give,  however,  one  single  example. 

In  an  altar-piece  painted  by  Cosimo  Roselli,  for  the  Serviti 


Virgin  from  Disputa  (Raphael) 

at  Florence,  she  stands  alone,  and  in  a  majestic  attitude,  on  a 
raised  pedestal.  She  holds  a  book,  and  looks  upward  to  the 
holy  Dove,  hovering  over  her  head ;  she  is  here  again  the 
Virgo  Sapientice.  (Uffizi,  Florence.)  On  one  side  are  St. 
John   the   Evangelist  and   St.  Antonino  of  Florence  (see  Le- 

1  For  a  detailed  description  of  this  fresco  see  Passavaut's  Rafael  [Ger.  ed.], 
vol.  i.  p.  140:  [Eng.  ed.  p.  85;  Layard's  Revision  of  Kugler's  Handbook,  vol. 
ii.  p.  48S  ;  also  Miint/.'s  Raphael,  which  contains  a  full  account  of  three  original 
drawings  for  the  Disputa,  with  engravings  of  the  same.] 


THE   VIRGIN   MARY  71 

gends  of  the  Monastic  Orders,  p.  404)  ;  on  the  other,  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Philip  Benozzi ;  in  front  kneel  St.  Margaret  and  St. 
Catherine ;  all  appear  to  contemplate  with  rapturous  de- 
votion the  vision  of  the  Madonna.  The  heads  and  attitudes 
in  this  picture  have  that  character  of  elegance,  which  dis- 
tinguished the  Florentine  school  at  this  period,  without  any 
of  those  extravagances  and  peculiarities  into  which  Piero  often 
fell:  for  the  man  had  evidently  a  touch  of  madness,  and 
was  as  eccentric  in  his  works  as  in  his  life  and  conversa- 
tion. The  order  of  the  Serviti,  for  whom  he  painted  this 
picture,  was  instituted  in  honor  of  the  Virgin,  and  for  her  par- 
ticular service,  which  will  account  for  the  unusual  treatment. 
(Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders,  p.  232.)  [A  striking  mod- 
ern example  of  the  Madonna  Enthroned  without  her  Son 
is  the  painting  hy  the  American  artist,  Abbot  Thayer.  The 
Virgin  is  seated  on  a  pedestal  in  the  midst  of  a  landscape. 
Her  hands  lie  loosely  clasped  in  her  lap,  and  she  gazes  before 
her  with  an  expression  of  indescribable  sweetness  and  purity. 
The  figure  has  a  simple  queenly  dignity  which  is  very  impres- 
sive. The  Virgin's  little  court  consists  of  two  charming  chil- 
dren who  kneel  one  on  each  side  of  her.  The  uniqueness  of 
the  composition  and  the  remarkable  effectiveness  of  the  color 
scheme  have  made  this  picture  famous.  It  was  purchased  of 
the  artist  by  J.  Montgomery  Sears,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  whose  collection  it  now  (1894)  has  a  prominent 
place.] 

The  numerous  —  often  most  beautiful  —  heads  and  half- 
length  figures  which  represent  the  Virgin  alone,  looking  up 
with  a  devout  or  tender  expression,  or  with  the  head  declined, 
and  the  hands  joined  in  prayer,  or  crossed  over  the  bosom 
with  virginal  humility  and  modesty,  belong  to  this  class  of 
representations.  In  the  ancient  heads,  most  of  which  are  imi- 
tations of  the  old  Greek  effigies  ascribed  to  St.  Luke,  there 
is  often  great  simplicity  and  beauty.  When  she  wears  the 
crown  over  her  veil,  or  bears  a  sceptre  in  her  hand,  she 
figures  as  the  queen  of  heaven  (Regina  Cceli).  When  such 
effigies  are  attended  by  adoring  angels,  she  is  the  queen  of 
angels  {Regina  Angelorum).  When  she  is  weeping  or  holding 
the  crown  of  thorns,  she  is  Our  Lady  of  Sorrow,  the  Mater 
Dolorosa.  When  she  is  merely  veiled,  with  folded  hands, 
and  in  her  features  all  the   beauty,  maiden   purity,  and  sweet- 


72  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

ness  which  the  artist  could  render,  she  is  simply  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  the  Madonna,  the  Santa  Maria  Vergine.  Such  heads 
are  very  rare  in  the  earlier  schools  of  art,  which  seldom  repre- 
sented the  Virgin  without  her  Child,  but  became  favorite 
studies  of  the  later  painters,  and  were  multiplied  and  varied 
to  infinitude  from  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
'Trom  these  every  trace  of  the  mystical  and  solemn  conception 
of  antiquity  gradually  disappeared ;  till,  for  the  majestic  ideal 
of  womanhood,  we  have  merely  inane  prettiness,  or  rustic,  or 
even  meretricious  grace,  the  borrowed  charms  of  some  earthly 
model^ 

L'  Incoronata 

The  Coronation  of  the  Virgin.  Lat.  Coronatio  Beatte  Marise  Vir- 
ginis.  Ital.  Maria  coronata  dal  divin  suo  Figlio.  Fr.  Le  Cou- 
ronnement  de  la  Sainte  Vierge.     Ger.  Die  Kronung  Maria. 

The  usual  type  of  the  Church  triumphant  is  the  Coronation 
of  the  Virgin  properly  so  called,  Christ  in  the  act  of  crown- 
ing his  Mother ;  one  of  the  most  popular,  significant,  and 
beautiful  subjects  in  the  whole  range  of  mediaeval  Art. 

When  in  a  series  of  subjects  from  the  life  of  the  Virgin,  so 
often  met  with  in  religious  prints  and  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
churches,  we  find  her  death  and  her  assumption  followed  by 
her  coronation  ;  when  the  bier  or  sarcophagus  and  the  twelve 
apostles  appear  below,  while  heaven  opens  upon  us  above ; 
then  the  representation  assumes  a  kind  of  dramatic  character : 
it  is  the  last  and  most  glorious  event  of  her  history.  The 
Mother,  dying  on  earth,  is  received  into  glory  by  her  Son  who 
had  gone  before  her,  and  who  thus  celebrates  the  consumma- 
tion of  his  victory  and  hers. 

But  when  the  scene  is  treated  apart  as  a  single  subject; 
when,  instead  of  the  apostles  gazing  up  to  heaven,  or  looking 
with  amazement  into  the  tomb  from  which  she  had  risen,  we 
find  the  lower  part  of  the  composition  occupied  by  votaries, 
patron  saints,  or  choral  angels,  then  the  subject  must  be  re- 
garded as  absolutely  devotional  and  typical.  It  is  not  a  scene 
or  an  action  ;  it  is  a  great  mystery.  It  is  consecrated  to  the 
honor  of  the  Virgin  as  type  of  the  spiritual  Church.  The 
Espoused  is  received  into  glory  and  crowned  with  the  crown  of 
everlasting  life,  exalted  above  angels,  spirits,  and  men.  In  this 
sense  Ave  must  understand  the  subject  when  we  find  it  in  eccle- 


l'  incoronata  73 

siastical  sculpture,  over  the  doors  of  places  of  worship,  in  the 
decorative  carving  of  church  utensils,  in  stained  glass.  In  many 
of  the  Italian  churches  there  is  a  chapel  especially  dedicated 
to  the  Virgin  in  this  character,  called  la  Capella  dell'  Incoro- 
nata  ;  and  hoth  in  Germany  and  Italy  it  is  a  frequent  subject 
as  an  altar-piece. 

In  all  the  most  ancient  examples,  it  is  Christ  only  who 
places  the  crown  on  the  head  of  his  Mother,  seated  on  the 
same  throne  and  placed  at  his  right  hand.  Sometimes  we  have 
the  two  figures  only  ;  sometimes  the  Padre  Etevno  looks  down, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  form  of  the  dove  hovers  above  or 
between  them.  In  some  later  examples  the  Virgin  is  seated 
between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  both  in  human  form  :  they 
place  the  crown  on  her  head,  each  holding  it  with  one  hand, 
the  Holy  Spirit  hovering  above.  In  other  representations  the 
Virgin  kneels  at  the  feet  of  Christ,  and  he  places  the  crown  on 
her  head,  while  two  or  more  rejoicing  and  adoring  angels  make 
heavenly  music,  or  all  Paradise  opens  to  the  view ;  and  there 
are  examples  where  not  only  the  share  of  attendant  angels,  but 
a  vast  assembly  of  patriarchs,  saints,  martyrs,  fathers  of  the 
Church  —  the  whole  company  of  the  blessed  spirits  —  assist  at 
this  great  ceremony. 

I  will  now  give  some  celebrated  examples  of  the  various 
styles  of  treatment,  which  will  be  better  than  pages  of  general 
description. 

There  is  a  group  in  mosaic,  which  I  believe  to  be  singular 
in  its  kind,  where  the  Virgin  is  enthroned  with  Christ.  She 
is  seated  at  his  right  hand,  at  the  same  elevation,  and  alto- 
gether as  his  equal.  His  right  arm  embraces  her,  and  his 
hand  rests  on  her  shoulder.  She  wears  a  gorgeous  crown, 
which  her  son  has  placed  on  her  brow.  Christ  has  only  the 
cruciform  nimbus  ;  in  his  left  hand  is  an  open  book,  on  which 
is  inscribed,  "  Veni,  Electa  mea,"  etc.  "  Come,  my  chosen 
one,  and  I  will  place  thee  upon  my  throne."  The  Virgin 
holds  a  tablet,  on  which  are  the  words,  "  His  left  hand 
should  be  under  my  head,  and  his  right  hand  should  embrace 
me  "  (Cant.  viii.  3).  The  omnipotent  hand  is  stretched  forth 
in  benediction  above.  Hen;  the  Virgin  is  the  type  of  the 
Church  triumphant  and  glorified,  having  overcome  the  world; 
and  the  solemn  significance  of  the  whole  representation  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Book  of  Revelation  :    "To  him  that  overcom- 


74  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

eth  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne,  even  as  I  also 
overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne " 
(Rev.  iii.  21). 

This  mosaic,  in  which,  be  it  observed,  the  Virgin  is  en- 
throned with  Christ,  and  embraced,  not  crowned,  by  him,  is, 
I  believe,  unique  either  as  a  picture  or  a  church  decoration. 
It  is  not  older  than  the  twelfth  century,  is  very  ill  executed, 
but  is  curious  from  the  peculiarity  of  the  treatment.  (Rome, 
S.  Maria-in-Trastevere.) 

In  the  mosaic  in  the  tribune  of  S.  Maria  Maggiore  at  Rome, 
perhaps  the  earliest  example  extant  of  the  Coronation,  properly 
so  called,  the  subject  is  treated  with  a  grand  and  solemn  sim- 
plicity. Christ  and  the  Virgin,  colossal  figures,  are  seated  on 
the  same  regal  throne  within  a  circular  glory.  The  back- 
ground is  blue  studded  with  golden  stars.  He  places  the 
crown  on  her  head  with  his  right  hand ;  in  the  left  he  holds 
an  open  book,  with  the  usual  text,  "  Veni,  Electa  mea,  et 
ponam  te  in  thronum  meum,"  etc.  She  bends  slightly  for- 
ward, and  her  hands  are  lifted  in  adoration.  Above  and 
around  the  circular  glory  the  emblematical  vine  twines  in  ara- 
besque form  :  among  the  branches  and  leaves  sit  peacocks  and 
other  birds  ;  the  peacock  being  the  old  emblem  of  immortality, 
as  birds  in  general  are  emblems  of  spirituality.  On  each  side 
of  the  glory  are  nine  adoring  angels,  representing  the  nine 
choirs  of  the  heavenly  hierarchy  ;  beyond  these  on  the  right 
stand  St.  Peter,  St.  Paul,  St.  Francis ;  on  the  left,  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  and  St.  Anthony  of 
Padua ;  all  these  figures  being  very  small  in  proportion  to 
those  of  Christ  and  the  Virgin.  Smaller  still,  and  quite 
diminutive  in  comparison,  are  the  kneeling  figures  of  Pope 
Nicholas  IV.  and  Cardinal  Giacomo  Colonna,  under  whose 
auspices  the  mosaic  was  executed  by  Jacopo  della  Turrita,  a 
Franciscan  friar,  about  1288.  In  front  flows  the  river  Jordan, 
symbol  of  baptism  and  regeneration  ;  on  its  shore  stands  the 
hart,  the  emblem  of  religious  aspiration.  Underneath  the 
central  group  is  the  inscription,  — 

Makia  Virgo  assumpta  ad  etiierium  Thalamum 
In  quo  Rex  Regum  stellato  sedet  solio. 

The  whole  of  this  vast  and  poetical  composition  is  admirably 
executed,  and  it  is  the  more  curious  as  being,  perhaps,  one 


l'  incokonata  75 

of  the  earliest  examples  of  the  glorification  of  St.  Francis 
and  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  (Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders, 
pp.256,  -92),  who  were  canonized  about  thirty  or  forty  years 
before.1 

The  mosaic,  by  Gaddo  Gaddi  (1330),  over  the  great  door  in 


Coronation  (Mosaic,  1290) 

the    cathedral    at    Florence,    is    somewhat    different.      Christ, 
while  placing  the  crown  on  the  head  of  his  Mother  with  his 

1  I  have  given  the  central  group  only,  because  in  the  last  edition  of  Kugler's 
Handbook,  vol.  i.,  may  be  found  a  beautiful  and  elaborate  reduction  of  the 
whole  composition,  by  Mr.  George  Scharf.  The  same  volume  contains  the  mo- 
saic of  the  Lateral]  and  an  exquisite  reduction  of  the  Coronation,  by  Angelico 
ila  Fiesole,  to  which  I  must  refer  the  reader. 


76  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

left  hand,  blesses  her  with  his  right  hand,  and  he  appears  to 
have  laid  aside  his  own  crown,  which  lies  near  him.  The 
attitude  of  the  Virgin  is  also  peculiar.1 

In  a  small  altar-piece  by  Giotto  (S.  Croce,  Florence),  Christ 
and  the  Virgin  are  seated  together  on  a  throne.  He  places 
the  jewelled  crown  on  her  head  with  both  hands,  while  she 
bends  forward  with  her  hands  crossed  in  her  lap,  and  the 
softest  expression  in  her  beautiful  face,  as  if  she  as  meekly 
resigned  herself  to  this  honor,  as  heretofore  to  the  angelic  sal- 
utation which  pronounced  her  "  Blessed  :  "  angels  kneel  before 
the  throne  with  censers  and  offerings.  In  another,  by  Giotto, 
Christ,  wearing  a  coronet  of  gems,  is  seated  on  a  throne :  the 
Virgin  kneels  before  him  with  hands  joined  :  twenty  angels 
with  musical  instruments  attend  around.  (D'Agincourt,  Pein- 
ture,  pi.  cxiv.)  In  the  Coronation  by  Piero  Laurati  [church 
of  Misericordia,  Monte  Pulciano],  the  figures  of  Christ  and  the 
Virgin,  seated  together,  resemble  in  sentiment  and  expression 
those  of  Giotto.  The  angels  are  arranged  in  a  glory  around, 
and  the  treatment  is  wholly  typical. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  celebrated  of  the  pictures 
of  Angelico  da  Fiesole  is  the  Coronation  now  in  the  Louvre ; 
formerly  it  stood  over  the  high  altar  of  the  church  of  St. 
Dominick  at  Fiesole,  where  Angelico  had  been  nurtured,  and 
made  his  profession  as  monk.  The  composition  is  conceived 
as  a  grand  regal  ceremony,  but  the  beings  who  figure  in  it  are 
touched  with  a  truly  celestial  grace.  The  Eedeemer,  crowned 
himself,  and  wearing  the  ermine  mantle  of  an  earthly  monarch, 
is  seated  on  a  magnificent  throne,  under  a  Gothic  canopy,  to 
which  there  is  an  ascent  of  nine  steps.  He  holds  the  crown, 
which  he  is  in  the  act  of  placing,  with  both  hands,  on  the  head 
of  the  Virgin,  who  kneels  before  him,  with  features  of  the 
softest  and  most  delicate  beauty,  and  an  expression  of  divine 
humility.  Her  face,  seen  in  profile,  is  partly  shaded  by  a  long 
transparent  veil,  flowing  over  her  ample  robe  of  a  delicate 
crimson,  beneath  which  is  a  blue  tunic.  On  each  side,  a  choir 
of  lovely  angels,  clothed  from  head  to  foot  in  spangled  tunics 
of  azure  and  rose-color,  with  shining  wings,  make  celestial 
music,  while  they  gaze  with  looks  of  joy  and  adoration  towards 

1  In  the  same  cathedral  (which  is  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary)  the  circular 
window  of  the  chnir  opposite  to  the  mosaic  exhibits  the  coronation.  The  de- 
sign, by  Donatcllo,  is  eminently  fine  and  classical. 


L    INCORONATA 


77 


the  principal  group.  Lower  down  on  the  right  of  the  throne 
are  eighteen,  and  on  the  left  twenty-two,  of  the  principal 
patriarchs,  apostles,  saints,  and  martyrs ;  among  whom  the 
worthies  of  Angelico's  own  community,  St.  Dominick  and  St. 
Peter  Martyr,  are  of  course  conspicuous.  At  the  foot  of  the 
throne    kneel    on  one   side    St.  Augustine,  St.  Benedict,  St. 


Coronation  (Pinturicchio) 


Charlemagne,  the  royal  saint,  St.  Nicholas,  and  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas  holding  a  pen  (the  great  literary  saint  of  the  Domini- 
can order,  and  author  of  the  Office  of  the  Virgin)  ;  on  the  left 
we  have  a  group  of  virgins,  St.  Agnes,  St.  Catherine  with  her 
wheel,  St.  Catherine  of  Siena,  her  habii  spangled  with  stars, 
St.  Cecilia  crowned  with  her  roses,  and  Mary  Magdalene,  with 


78  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

her  long  golden  hair.1  Beneath  this  great  composition  runs  a 
border  or  predella,  in  seven  compartments,  containing  in  the 
centre  a  Pieta,  and  on  each  side  three  small  subjects  from  the 
history  of  St.  Dominick,  to  whom  the  church,  whence  it  was 
taken,  is  dedicated.  The  spiritual  beauty  of  the  heads,  the 
delicate  tints  of  the  coloring,  an  ineffable  charm  of  mingled 
brightness  and  repose  shed  over  the  whole,  give  to  this  lovely 
picture  an  effect  like  that  of  a  church  hymn  sung  at  some  high 
festival  by  voices  tuned  in  harmony  —  "  blest  voices  uttering 
joy !  " 

In  strong  contrast  with  this  graceful  Italian  conception  is 
the  German  "  Coronation  "  of  the  Wallerstein  collection.2  It 
is  supposed  to  have  been  painted  for  Philip  the  Good,  duke  of 
Burgundy,  either  by  Hans  Mending,  or  a  painter  not  inferior 
to  him.  Here  the  Virgin  is  crowned  by  the  Trinity.  She 
kneels,  with  an  air  of  majestic  humility,  and  hands  meekly 
folded  on  her  bosom,  attired  in  simple  blue  drapery,  before 
a  semicircular  throne,  on  which  are  seated  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  between  them,  with  outspread  wings  touching  their 
mouths,  the  Holy  Dove.  The  Father,  a  venerable  figure, 
wears  the  triple  tiara,  and  holds  the  sceptre  :  Christ,  with  an 
expression  of  suffering,  holds  in  his  left  hand  a  crystal  cross  ; 
and  the}'  sustain  between  them  a  crown  which  they  are  about 
to  place  on  the  head  of  the  Virgin.  Their  golden  throne  is 
adorned  with  gems,  and  over  it  is  a  glory  of  seraphim,  with 
hair,  faces,  and  plumage,  all  of  a  glowing  red.  The  lower  part 
of  this  picture  and  the  compartments  on  each  side  are  filled 
with  a  vast  assemblage  of  saints,  and  martyrs,  and  holy  con- 
fessors ;  conspicuous  among  them  we  find  the  saints  most  pop- 
ular in  Flanders  and  Burgundy  —  St.  Adrian,  St.  George,  St. 
Sebastian.  St.  Maurice,  clad  in  coats  of  mail  and  crowned  with 
laurel,  with  other  kingly  and  warlike  personages ;  St.  Philip, 
the  patron  of  Philip  the  Good ;  St.  Andrew,  in  whose  honor 
he  instituted  the  order  of  the  Golden  Fleece  ;  and  a  figure  in 
a  blue  mantle  with  a  ducal  crown,  one  of  the  three  kings  of 
Cologne,  is  supposed  to  represent  Duke  Philip  himself.  It  is 
impossible  by  any  description  to  do  justice  to  this  wonderful 
picture,  as  remarkable  for  its  elaborate  workmanship,  the  mys- 

1  See  Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders,  and  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  for 
an  account  of  all  these  personages. 

2  [Formerly  in  Kensington  Palace,  but  now  dispersed.) 


l'  incoronata  79 

ticism  of  the  conception,  the  quaint  elegance  of  the  details, 
and  portrait-like  reality  of  the  faces,  as  that  of  Angelico  for 
its  spiritual,  tender,  imaginative  grace. 

There  is  a   Coronation   by  Vivarini 1    (Academy,   Venice), 
which   may  be   said   to   comprise  in  itself  a  whole   system   of 
theology.      It  is  one  vast  composition,  not  divided  by  compart- 
ments.     In  the  centre  is  a  magnificent  carved  throne  sustained 
by  six  pillars,  which  stand  on  a  lofty  richly  ornamented  pedes- 
tal.     On  the   throne   are  seated  Christ  and  the  Virgin  ;   he  is 
crowned,  and   places  with    both   hands  a  crown  on   her  head. 
Between  them   hovers  the  celestial  Dove,  and   above  them  is 
seen  the  Heavenly  Father  in   likeness   of    the   "  Ancient   of 
Days,"  who  paternally  lays  a   hand   on  the   shoulder  of  each. 
Around  his  head,  and    over  the  throne,  are  the  nine  choirs   of 
angels,  in  separate  groups.      First  and  nearest,  hover  the  glow- 
ing  seraphim   and   cherubim,  winged,  but  otherwise   formless. 
Above   these,  the  Thrones,  holding   the  globe  of  sovereignty  ; 
to  the  right,  the   Dominations,  Virtues,   and   Powers  ;   to   the 
left,  the  Princedoms,  Archangels,   and  Angels.      Below  these, 
on  each  side  of  the  throne,  the  prophets  and  patriarchs  of  the 
Old  Testament,  holding  each  a  scroll.     Below  these,  the  apos- 
tles on  twelve    thrones,   six  on   each   side,   each  holding   the 
Gospel.      Below  these,  on   each  side,  the    saints  and   martyrs. 
Below  these,  again,  the  virgins  and  holy  women.      Under  the 
throne,  in   the  space  formed   by  the  pillars,  is  seen  a  group  of 
beautiful  children  (not  angels),  representing,  I  think,  the  mar- 
tyred  Innocents.      They  bear  the  instruments  of  Christ's   pas- 
sion —  the   cross,  nails,  spear,  crown   of   thorns,  etc.     On  the 
step  below  the  pedestal,  and  immediately  in  front,  are  seated 
the    Evangelists  and   doctors  of   the  Church  ;   on  the  right  St. 
Matthew  and  St.  Luke,  and  behind  them  St.  Ambrose  and  St. 
Augustine  ;   on  the  left   St.   Mark  and    St.    John,  and   behind 
them  St.  Jerome  and  St.  Gregory.      Every  part  of  this  curious 
picture  is  painted  with  the  utmost  care  and  delicacy  :   the  chil- 
dren are  exquisite,  and  the   heads,  of  which  there  are  at   least 
seventy  without  counting  the  angels,  are   finished   like  minia- 
tures. 

1  [This  picture  is  attributed  by  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle  to  the  two  Muranese 
artists  whose  partnership  is  variously  known  as  "Johannes  et  Antoniua  de 
Muriano,"  and  "Johannes  Alamannu.8  ami  Antonio  da  Mariano."  It  was 
probably  painted  for  a  Venetian  church  in  1440.     See  History  of  Painting  in 

North  lt<dij,  vol.  i.  p.  21.] 


80  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

In  a  bas-relief  over  a  door  of  the  cathedral  at  Treves,  the 
subject  is  very  simply  treated  ;  both  Christ  and  the  Virgin  are 
standing,  which  is  unusual,  and  behind  each  is  an  angel,  also 
standing  and  holding  a  crown. 

Where  not  more  than  five  or  six  saints  are  introduced  as  at- 
tendants and  accessories,  they  are  usually  the  patron  saints  of 
the  locality  or  community,  which  may  bo  readily  distinguished. 
Thus, 

1.  In  a  Coronation  by  Sandro  Botticelli,  we  find  below, 
St.  John  the  Evangelist,  St.  Augustine,  St.  John  Gualberto, 
St.  Bernardo  Cardinale.  It  was  painted  for  the  Vallombrosian 
monks.      (Academy,  Florence.) 

2.  In  a  very  fine  example  by  [Ridolfo]  Ghirlandajo,  St. 
Dominick  and  St.  Peter  Martyr  are  conspicuous :  painted,  of 
course,  for  the  Dominicans.      (Louvre,  Paris.) 

3.  In  another,  by  Pinturicchio,  St.  Francis  is  a  principal 
figure,  with  St.  Bonaventura  and  St.  Louis  of  Toulouse : 
painted  for  the  Franciscans,  or  at  least  for  a  Franciscan  pope, 
Sixtus  IV.      (Vatican,  Rome.) 

4.  In  another,  by  Guido,  the  treatment  differs  from  the 
early  style.  The  Coronation  above  is  small  and  seen  as  a 
vision ;  the  saints  below,  St.  Bernard  and  St.  Catherine,  are 
life  size.  It  was  painted  for  a  community  of  Bernardines,  the 
monks  of  Monte  Oliveto.      (Bologna  Gallery.) 

5.  In  a  beautiful  little  altar-piece  by  Lorenzo  di  Credi,1  the 
Virgin  is  kneeling  above,  while  Christ,  seated,  places  the  crown 
on  her  head.  A  glory  of  red  seraphim  surround  the  two  fig- 
ures. Below  are  the  famous  patron  saints  of  Central  Italy, 
St.  Nicholas  of  Bari  and  St.  Julian  of  Rimini,  St.  Barbara  and 
St.  Christina.  The  St.  Francis  and  St.  Anthony,  in  the  pre- 
della,  show  it  to  have  been  painted  for  a  Franciscan  church  or 
chapel,  probably  for  the  same  church  at  Cestello  for  which 
Lorenzo  painted  the  St.  Julian  and  St.  Nicholas  now  in  the 
Louvre.  [Collection  of  Lord  Wantage.  Vide  Bedford's 
Sales,  vol.  i.  p.  152.] 

The  "  Coronation  of  the  Virgin  "  by  Annibal  Caracci  is  in 
a  spirit  altogether  different,  magnificently  studied.2     On  high, 

1  Once  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  Rogers.  Vide  Sac?%ed  ami  Legendary  Art,  p. 
639. 

2  This  was  also  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  Rogers.  [Sold  in  1856.  Vide  Red- 
ford's  Sales,  vol.  ii.  p.  223.] 


CORONATION'    OK    TIIK    VIKCIN   ( I'..  >  i  i  ,c  i  i  i  .  > 


l'  incoronata  81 

upon  a  lofty  throne  which  extends  across  the  whole  picture 
from  side  to  side,  the  Virgin,  a  noble  majestic  creature,  in  the 
true  Caracci  style,  is  seated  in  the  midst  as  the  principal  figure, 
her  hands  folded  on  her  boscm.  On  the  right  hand  sits  the 
Father,  on  the  left  the  Son  ;  they  hold  a  heavenly  crown  sur- 
mounted by  stars  above  her  head.  The  locality  is  the  empyrean. 
The  audience  consists  of  angels  only,  who,  circle  within  circle, 
filling  the  whole  space,  and  melting  into  an  abyss  of  light, 
chant  hymns  of  rejoicing,  and  touch  celestial  instruments  of 
music.  This  picture  shows  how  deeply  Annibal  Caracci  had 
studied  Correggio,  in  the  magical  chiaroscuro,  and  the  lofty  but 
somewhat  mannered  grace  of  the  figures. 

One  of  the  latest  examples  I  can  point  to  is  also  one  of  the 
most  simple  and  grand  in  conception.  It  is  that  by  Velasquez 
(Madrid  Gallery),  the  finest  perhaps  of  the  very  few  devo- 
tional subjects  painted  by  him.  We  have  here  the  three 
figures  only,  as  large  as  life,  filling  the  region  of  glory,  without 
angels,  witnesses,  or  accessories  of  any  kind,  except  the  small 
cherubim  beneath ;  and  the  symmetrical  treatment  gives  to  the 
whole  a  sort  of  sublime  effect.  But  the  heads  have  the  air  of 
portraits :  Christ  has  a  dark,  earnest,  altogether  Spanish  phy- 
siognomy ;  the  Virgin  has  dark  hair ;  and  the  Padre  Eterno, 
with  a  long  beard,  has  a  bald  head — a  gross  fault  in  taste  and 
propriety  ;  because,  though  the  loose  beard  and  flowing  white 
hair  may  serve  to  typify  the  "  Ancient  of  Days,"  baldness 
expresses  not  merely  age,  but  the  infirmity  of  age. 

Rubens,  also,  painted  a  Coronation,  with  all  his  own  lavish 
magnificence  of  style,  for  the  Jesuits  at  Brussels.  After  the 
time  of  Velasquez  and  Rubens,  the  Immaculate  Conception 
superseded  the  Coronation. 

To  enter  further  into  the  endless  variations  of  this  charming 
and  complex  subject  would  lead  us  through  all  the  schools  of 
Art  from  Giotto  to  Guido.  I  have  said  enough  to  render  it 
intelligible  and  interesting,  and  must  content  myself  with  one 
or  two  closing  memoranda. 

1.  The  dress  of  the  Virgin  in  a  Coronation  is  generally 
splendid,  too  like  the  coronation  robes  of  an  earthly  queen  — 
it  is  a  "  raiment  of  needlework  "  —  "a  vesture  of  gold  wrought 
about  with  divers  colors  "  — generally  blue,  crimson,  and  white, 
adorned  with  gold,  gems,  and  even  ermine.     In  the  Corona 


82  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

tion  by  Filippo  Lippi,  at  Spoleto,  she  wears  a  white  ?obe 
embroidered  with  golden  suns.  In  a  beautiful  little  Coro- 
nation in  the  Wallerstein  collection  she  wears  a  wbite  robe 
embroidered  with  suns  and  moons,  the  former  red  with  golden 
rays,  the  latter  blue  with  colored  rays  —  perhaps  in  allusion 
to  the  text  so  often  applied  in  reference  to  her,  a  "woman 
clothed  with  the  sun"  etc.  (Rev.  xii.  1,  or  Cant.  vi.  10). 

2.  In  the  set  of  cartoons  for  the  tapestries  of  the  Sistine 
Chapel,1  as  originally  prepared  by  Raphael,  we  have  the 
foundation,  the  heaven-bestowed  powers,  the  trials  and  suffer- 
ings of  the  early  Church,  exhibited  in  the  calling  of  St.  Peter, 
the  conversion  of  St.  Paul,  the  acts  and  miracles  of  the  apos- 
tles, the  martyrdom  of  St.  Stephen ;  and  the  series  closed  with 
the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  placed  over  the  altar,  as  typical 
of  the  final  triumph  of  the  Church,  the  completion  and  ful- 
filment of  all  the  promises  made  to  man,  set  forth  in  the  exal- 
tation and  union  of  the  mortal  with  the  immortal,  when  the 
human  Mother  and  her  divine  Son  are  reunited  and  seated  on 
the  same  throne.  Raphael  placed  on  one  side  of  the  celestial 
group  St.  John  the  Baptist,  representing  sanctification  through 
the  rite  of  baptism ;  and  on  the  other,  St.  Jerome,  the  general 
symbol  of  sanctification  through  faith  and  repentance.  The 
cartoon  of  this  grand  symbolical  composition,  in  which  all  the 
figures  were  colossal,  is  unhappily  lost ;  the  tapestry  is  missing 
from  the  Vatican  collection ; 2  two  old  engravings,  however, 
exist,  from  which  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  original 
group.  (Passavant's  Rafael,  vol.  ii.  p.  258  [Ger.  ed.  ;  p.  172, 
Eng.  ed.].) 

3.  It  will  be  interesting  to  remember  that  the  earliest 
existing  impression  taken  from  an  engraved  metal  plate  is  a 
"Coronation  of  the  Virgin."  Maso  Finiguerra,  a  skilful  gold- 
smith and  worker  in  niello,  living  at  Florence  in  1434,  was 
employed  to  execute  a  pyx  (the  small  casket  in  which  the  con- 
secrated wafer  of  the  sacrament  is  deposited),  and  he  decorated 
it  with  a  representation  of  the  Coronation  in  presence  of  saints 

1  [Vide  Layard's  Revision  of  Kugler's  Handbook,  vol.  ii.  p.  504;  Crowe  and 
Cavalcaselle's  Life  of  Raphael,  vol.  ii.  p.  461.] 

-  [The  Coronation  of  the  Virgin  was  discovered  in  the  Vatican  in  18G9  by 
M.  Paliard,  and  is  now  in  the  Gallery  of  Tapestry  (See  Gazette  des  Beaux  Arts, 
187-i,  t.  ii.  p.  82).  Raphael's  original  sketch  for  the  design  is  preserved  in  the 
Museum  at  Oxford.     For  facsimile  see  p.  477  of  Raphael,  by  Eugene  Muntz.] 


L    INCORONATA 


83 


Coronation  (Hans  Holbein  the  Elder) 

and  angels,  in  all  about  thirty  figures,  minutely  and  exquisitely 
engraved  on  the  silver  face.  Whether  Finiguerra  was  the  first 
worker  in  niello  to  whom  it  occurred  to  fill  up  the  lines  cut 
in  the  silver  with  a  black  fluid,  and  then,  by  laying  it  on  a 
piece  of  damp  paper  and  forcibly  rubbing  it,  take  off  the  fac- 
simile of  his  design  and  try  its  effects  before  the  final  process 
—  this  \vc  cannot  ascertain;  we  only  know  that  the  impres- 
sion of  his  Coronation  is  the  earliest  specimen  known  to  exist, 
and  gave  rise  to  the  practice  of  cutting  designs  on  plates  of 
copper  (instead  of  silver),  for  the  purpose  of  multiplying  im- 
pressions of  them.  The  pyx,  finished  by  Maso  in  1452,  is  now 
in  the    Florence   Gallery  in   the  "Salle   des   Bronzes."     The 


84  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

invaluable  print,  first  of  its  species,  exists  in  the  National 
Library  at  Paris.  There  is  a  very  exact  facsimile  of  it  in 
Ottley's  "History  of  Engraving"  [vol.  i.  p.  304].  Christ 
and  the  Virgin  are  here  seated  together  on  a  lofty  architectural 
throne  :  her  hands  are  crossed  on  her  bosom,  and  she  bends 
her  meek  veiled  head  to  receive  the  crown,  which  her  Son,  who 
wears  a  triple  tiara,  places  on  her  brow.  The  saints  most  con- 
spicuous are  St.  John  the  Baptist,  patron  of  Florence  and  of 
the  church  for  which  the  pyx  was  executed,  and  a  female  saint, 
I  believe  St.  Keparata,  both  standing ;  kneeling  in  front  are 
St.  Cosmo  and  St.  Damian,  the  patrons  of  the  Medici  family, 
then  paramount  at  Florence.  (See  Sacred  and  Legendary 
Art,  p.  426.) 

4.  In  an  illuminated  "  Office  of  the  Virgin  "  I  found  a  ver- 
sion of  this  subject  which  must  be  rare,  and  probably  confined 
to  miniatures.  Christ  is  seated  on  a  throne,  and  the  Virgin 
kneels  before  him  ;  he  bends  forward,  and  tenderly  takes  her 
clasped  hands  in  both  his  own.  An  empty  throne  is  at  the 
right  hand  of  Christ,  over  which  hovers  an  angel  bearing  a 
crown.  This  is  the  moment  which  precedes  the  Coronation, 
as  the  group  already  described  in  the  S.  Maria-in-Trastevere 
exhibits  the  moment  which  follows  the  Coronation. 

5.  Finally,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  those  effigies  in  which 
the  Madonna  is  holding  her  Child,  while  angels  place  a  crown 
upon  her  head,  do  not  represent  the  Coronation  properly  so 
called,  but  merely  the  Virgin  honored  as  Mother  of  Christ  and 
Queen  of  Heaven  {Mater  Christi,  Regina  Cceli)  ;  and  that 
those  representations  of  the  Coronation  which  conclude  a  series 
of  the  life  of  the  Virgin,  and  surmount  her  death-bed  or  her 
tomb,  are  historical  and  dramatic  rather  than  devotional  and 
typical.  Of  this  historical  treatment  there  are  beautiful  ex- 
amples from  Cimabue  down  to  Raphael,  which  will  be  noticed 
hereafter  in  their  proper  place. 


THE   VIRGIN   OF   MERCY  85 


The  Virgin  of  Mercy 


Our  Lady  of  Succor.      Ital.  La  Madonna  di  Misericordia.     Fr. 
Notre  Dame  de  Misericorde.     Ger.  Maria  Mutter  des  Erbarmens. 

Sp.  Nuestra  Seiiora  de  Gracia. 

When  once  the  Virgin  had  been  exalted  and  glorified  in  the 
celestial  paradise,  the  next  and  the  most  natural  result  was, 
that  she  should  be  regarded  as  being  in  heaven  the  most  pow- 
erful of  intercessors,  and  on  earth  a  most  benign  and  ever- 
present  protectress.  In  the  mediaeval  idea  of  Christ  there 
was  often  something  stern ;  the  Lamb  of  God  who  died  for 
the  sins  of  the  world  is  also  the  inexorable  Judge  of  the  quick 
and  the  dead.  When  he  shows  his  wounds,  it  is  as  if  a  vin- 
dictive feeling  was  supposed  to  exist ;  as  if  he  were  called  upon 
to  remember  in  judgment  the  agonies  and  the  degradation  to 
which  he  had  been  exposed  below  for  the  sake  of  wicked, 
ungrateful  men.  In  a  Greek  "  Day  of  Judgment,"  cited  by 
Didron,  Moses  holds  up  a  scroll,  on  which  is  written,  "  Behold 
him  whom  ye  crucified,"  while  the  Jews  are  dragged  into  ever- 
lasting fire.  Everywhere  is  the  sentiment  of  vengeance  ;  Christ 
himself  is  less  a  judge  than  an  avenger.  Not  so  the  Virgin  ; 
she  is  represented  as  all  mercy,  sympathy,  and  benignity.  In 
some  of  the  old  pictures  of  the  Day  of  Judgment  she  is  seated 
by  the  side  of  Christ,  on  an  equality  with  him,  and  often  in 
an  attitude  of  deprecation,  as  if  abjuring  him  to  relent ;  or  her 
eyes  are  turned  on  the  redeemed  souls,  and  she  looks  away  from 
the  condemned  as  if  unable  to  endure  the  sight  of  their  doom. 
In  other  pictures  she  is  lower  than  Christ,  but  always  on  his 
right  hand,  and  generally  seated ;  while  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
who  is  usually  placed  opposite  to  her  on  the  left  of  Christ, 
invariably  stands  or  kneels.  Instead  of  the  Baptist,  it  is  some- 
times, but  rarely,  John  the  Evangelist,  who  is  the  pendant  of 
the  Virgin. 

In  the  Greek  representations  of  the  Last  Judgment,  a  river 
of  fire  flows  from  under  the  throne  of  Christ  to  devour  and 
burn  up  the  wicked.1  In  Western  art  the  idea  is  less  formid- 
able—  Christ  is  not  at  once  judge  and  executioner;  but  the 
Bentiment  is  always  sufficiently  terrible ;   "the  angels  and  all 

1  Didron.  Tconographw  Chretienni  ;  and  in  the  mosaic  of  the  Last  Judgment) 

executed  by  Byzantine  artists,  in  the  cathedral  at  Torcello. 


86 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


the  powers  of  heaven  tremble  before  him."  In  the  midst  of 
these  terrors,  the  Virgin,  whether  kneeling,  or  seated,  or  stand- 
ing, always  appears  as  a  gentle  mediator,  a  supplicant  for 
mercy.  In  the  "  Day  of  Judgment,"  as  represented  in  the 
"  Hortus  Deliciarum,"  1  we  read  inscribed  under  her  figure  the 
words,  "  Maria  Filio  suo  pro  Ecclesia  supplicat."  In  a  very 
fine  picture  by  Martin  Schoen  (Schleissheim  Gallery),  it  is  the 


The  Virgin  and  Christ  from  the  Last  Judgment  (attributed  to  Orcagna) 

Father  who,  with  a  sword  and  three  javelins  in  his  hand,  sits 
as  the  avenging  judge  ;  near  him  Christ  ;  while  the  Virgin 
stands  in  the  foreground,  looking  up  to  her  Son  with  an  ex- 
pression of  tender  supplication,  and  interceding,  as  it  appears, 
for  the  sinners  kneeling  round  her,  and  whose  imploring  looks 
are  directed  to  her.      In  the  well-known  fresco  2  [of  the   Last 

1  A  celebrated  illuminated  MS.  (date  about  1159  to  1175),  preserved  in  the 
Library  at  Strasburg. 

2  [Formerly  attributed  to  Orcagna,  but  assigned  by  late  authorities  to  Nardo 
Daddi.    Vide  Layard's  Revision  of  Kugler's  Handbook,  vol.  i.  p.  111.] 


THE    VIRGIN   OF   MERCY  87 

Judgment]  in  the  Campo  Santo,  Pisa,  Christ  and  the  Virgin 
sit  throned  ahove,  each  in  a  separate  aureole,  but  equally  glori- 
fied. Christ,  pointing  with  one  hand  to  the  wound  in  his  side, 
raises  the  other  in  a  threatening  attitude,  and  his  attention  is 
directed  to  the  wicked,  whom  he  hurls  into  perdition.  The 
Virgin,  with  one  hand  pressed  to  her  bosom,  looks  to  him  with 
an  air  of  supplication.  Both  figures  are  regally  attired,  and 
wear  radiant  crowns ;  and  the  twelve  apostles  attend  them, 
seated  on  each  side. 

In  the  centre  group  of  Michael  Angelo's  Last  Judgment 
[Sistine  Chapel,  Borne]  we  have  the  same  leading  motif,  but 
treated  in  a  very  different  feeling.  Christ  stands  before  us  in 
figure  and  mien  like  a  half-naked  athlete  ;  his  left  hand  re- 
jects, his  right  hand  threatens,  and  his  whole  attitude  is  as 
utterly  devoid  of  dignity  as  of  grace.  I  have  often  wondered, 
as  I  have  looked  at  this  grand  and  celebrated  work,  what  could 
be  Michael  Angelo's  idea  of  Christ.  He  who  was  so  good, 
so  religious,  so  pure-minded,  and  so  high-minded,  was  deficient 
in  humility  and  sympathy  ;  if  his  morals  escaped,  his  imagina- 
tion was  corrupted  by  the  profane  and  pagan  influences  of  his 
time.  His  conception  of  Christ  is  here  most  unchristian,  and 
his  conception  of  the  Virgin  is  not  much  better.  She  is  grand 
in  form,  but  the  expression  is  too  passive.  She  looks  down 
and  seems  to  shrink  ;  but  the  significance  of  the  attitude  — 
the  hand  pressed  to  the  maternal  bosom  —  given  to  her  by  the 
old  painters,  is  lost. 

In  a  Last  Judgment  by  Bubens,  painted  for  the  Jesuits 
of  Brussels  (Brussels,  Musde),  the  Virgin  extends  her  robe 
over  the  world,  as  if  to  shield  mankind  from  the  wrath  of  her 
Son ;  pointing,  at  the  same  time,  significantly  to  her  bosom, 
whence  he  derived  his  earthly  life.  The  daring  bad  taste  and 
the  dramatic  power  of  this  representation  arc  characteristic 
alike  of  the  painter,  the  time,  and  the  community  for  which 
the  picture  was  painted. 

More  beautiful  and  more  acceptable  to  our  feelings  are  those 
graceful  representations  of  the  Virgin  as  dispenser  of  mercy  on 
earth; x  as  protectress  and  patroness  either  of  all  Christendom, 

1  [To  this  class  of  pictures  belongs  Bonguereau'e  Vierge  Gonsolatrice  ( 1887), 
in  the  Luxembourg,  1'aris.     A  young  mother  has  laid  her  dead  babe  at  the  feet 


88 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


■  :*-nw  niliiiiiMii TiM^—.-ii^ir-  %---y,iii'-iiii'-w-i> 


"    i»fc-T  _ •     _j  ■  ^-~_     J> 


La  Madonna  di  Misericordia  (Bas-relief,  thirteenth  century) 

or  of  some  particular  locality,  country,  or  community.  In 
such  pictures  she  stands  with  outstretched  arms,  crowned  with 
a  diadem,  or  in  some  instances  simply  veiled ;  her  ample  rohe, 
extended  on  each  side,  is  held  up  hy  angels,  while  under  its 
protecting  folds  are  gathered   worshippers  and  votaries  of  all 

of  the  Madonna,  and  throws  herself  in  anguish  across  the  Holy  Mother's  knees. 
The  Virgin's  face  is  lifted  heavenward  with  an  expression  of  great  tenderness 
and  pity.     Vide  Stranahan's  History  of  French  Painting,  p.  404.] 


THE   VIRGIN   OF  MERCY 


89 


La  Madonna  di  Misericordia  (Piero  della  Francesca) 


ranks  and  ages  —  men,  women,  children  —  kings,  nobles,  ec- 
clesiastics —  the  poor,  the  lame,  the  sick.  Or  if  the  picture 
be  less  universal  in  its  significance,  dedicated  perhaps  by  some 
religious  order  or  charitable  brotherhood,  we  see  beneath  her 
robe  an  assemblage  of  monks  and  nuns,  or  a  troop  of  young 
orphans  or  releemed  prisoners.  Such  a  representation  is  styled 
a  Misericordia. 

1.  In  a  picture  by  Fra  Filippo   Lippi  (Berlin   Gallery),  the 


90  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

Madonna  of  Mercy  extends  lier  protecting  mantle  over  thirty- 
five  kneeling  figures,  the  faces  like  portraits,  none  elevated 
or  beautiful,  but  the  whole  picture  as  an  example  of  the  subject 
most  striking. 

2.  This  majestic  figure  [p.  88]  is  from  a  bas-relief  at  Venice 
[thirteenth  century]  placed  over  the  entrance  of  the  Scuola 
(or  brotherhood)  of  Charity.  The  members  of  the  community 
are  here  gathered  under  the  robe  of  their  patroness. 

3.  This  singular  figure  [p.  89],  which  looks  like  that  of  an 
Indian  goddess,  is  from  a  Misericord ia  painted  by  Piero  della 
Francesca  for  the  hospital  of  Borgo  San  Sepolcro,  in  the  Apen- 
nines. 

4.  A  very  beautiful  and  singular  representation  of  the  Vir- 
gin of  Mercy  without  the  Child,  I  found  in  the  collection  of 
Herr  v.  Quandt  of  Dresden.  She  stands  with  hands  folded 
over  her  bosom,  and  wrapped  in  ample  white  drapery,  without 
ornament  of  any  kind  ;  over  her  head,  a  veil  of  transparent 
gauze  of  a  brown  color,  such  as,  from  various  portraits  of  the 
time,  appears  to  have  been  then  a  fashion.  The  expression  of 
the  face  is  tender  and  contemplative,  almost  sad  ;  and  the 
whole  figure,  which  is  life  size,  is  inexpressibly  refined  and 
dignified.  The  following  inscription  is  on  the  dark  back- 
ground to  the  right  of  the  Virgin  :  — 

Imago 
Beat^e  Mari.e  Virginis 

Quje 

Mens.  August,   mioxxxiii. 

Apparuit 

Miraculor.  Operations 

Concursu  Pop. 

Celererrim. 

This  beautiful  picture  was  brought  from  Brescia  to  Vienna 
by  a  picture-dealer,  and  purchased  by  Herr  v.  Quandt.  It  was 
painted  by  Moretto  of  Brescia,  of  whom  Lanzi  truly  says  that 
his  sacred  subjects  express  la  comptinzione,  I"  pieta,  la  carita 
istessa  ;  and  this  picture  is  an  instance.  But  by  whom  dedi- 
cated, for  what  especial  mercy,  or  in  what  church,  I  could  not 
ascertain.1    I  possess  a  charming  drawing  of  the  head  by  Frau- 

1  [This  picture,  which  since  Herr  v.  Quandt's  death,  lias  been  in  the  Dresden 
Gallery,  is  pronounced  by  Morelli,  and  after  him  by  Dr.  Woermann,  a  feeble 
copy  of  the  original  painting  at  Paitone.     Mrs.  Jameson's  rendering  of  the  in- 


I. A   MIM- kK  OKDIA  DI    LUCCA  (Bartolommbo) 


THE   VIRGIN   OF   MERCY  91 

lein  Louise  Seidler  of  Weimar,  whose  feeling  for  early  reli- 
gious Art  is  shown  in  her  own  works,  as  well  as  in  the  beau- 
tiful copies  she  has  made  of  others. 

It  is  seldom  that  the  Madonna  di  Misericordia  appears  with- 
out the  Child  in  her  arms ;  her  maternity  is  supposed  to  be 
one  element  in  her  sympathy  with  suffering  humanity.  1  will 
add,  however,  to  the  examples  already  given,  one  very  cele- 
brated instance. 

The  picture  entitled  the  "  Misericordia  di  Lucca  "  is  famous 
in  the  history  of  Art.  [Lucca  Gallery.]  It  is  the  most  impor- 
tant work  of  Fra  Lartolommeo,  and  is  dated  1515,  two  years 
before  his  death.  The  Virgin,  a  grand  and  beautiful  figure, 
stands  alone  on  a  raised  platform,  with  her  arms  extended,  and 
looking  up  to  heaven.  The  ample  folds  of  her  robe  are  held 
open  by  two  angels.  Beneath  and  round  her  feet  are  various 
groups  in  attitudes  of  supplication,  who  look  up  to  her,  as  she 
looks  up  to  heaven.  On  one  side  the  donor  of  the  picture  is 
presented  by  St.  Dominick.  Above,  in  a  glory,  is  the  figure 
of  Christ  surrounded  by  angels,  and  seeming  to  bend  towards 
his  Mother.  The  expression  in  the  heads,  the  dignified  benefi- 
cence of  the  Virgin,  the  dramatic  feeling  in  the  groups,  particu- 
larly the  women  and  children,  justify  the  fame  of  this  picture 
as  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  productions  of  mind.1 

There  is  yet  another  version  of  this  subject  which  deserves 
notice  from  the  fantastic  grace  of  the  conception.  As  in  early 
Christian  Art  our  Saviour  was  frequently  portrayed  as  the 
Good  Shepherd,  so,  among  the  later  Spanish  fancies,  we  find 
his  Mother  represented  as  the  Divine  Shepherdess.  In  a  pic- 
ture  painted  by  Alonzo  Miguel  de  Tobar,  about  the  beginning 

scription  omits  an  important  line  which  furnishes  the  explanation  of  the  pic- 
ture. The  full  reading  is:  "Imago  Beats  Marise  Virg.  Qiue  Mens.  August. 
M.tu .xxxiii.  Caitoni  Agri  Brixani.  Pago  Apparuit  Miraculor.  Operatione 
Concursu  Pop.  Celeberrim."  From  this  it  is  inferred  that  the  subject  is  the  Ma- 
donna appearing  during  the  plague  of  1533  to  a  shepherd  boy  (Filippo  Viotti)of 
Monte  Paitone  in  Brescia.  Vide  Morelli,  Critical  Studies  of  Italian  Painters, 
vol.  ii.  p.  220;  also  Wbermann's  Catalogue  of  the  Dresden  Gallery,  1802.] 

1  According  to  the  account  in  Murray's  Handbook,  this  picture  was  dedicated 
bv  the  noble  family  of  Montecanini,  and  represents  the  Virgin  interceding  for 
the  Lucchesi  'luring  the  wars  with  Florence.  Bui  I  confess  I  am  doubtful  of 
this  interpretation,  and  rather  think  it  refers  to  the  pestilence  which,  about 
1512.  desolated  the  whole  of  the  north  of  Italy.  Wilkie,  who  saw  this  picture 
in  1825,  speaks  of  the  workmanship  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a  workman. 


92  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

of  the  eighteenth  century,  we  find  the  Virgin  Mary  seated 
under  a  tree,  in  guise  of  an  Arcadian  pastorella,  wearing  a 
broad-brimmed  hat,  encircled  by  a  glory,  a  crook  in  her  hand, 
while  she  feeds  her  flock  with  the  mystical  roses.  The  beauty 
of  expression  in  the  head  of  the  Virgin  is  such  as  almost  to 
redeem  the  quaintness  of  the  religious  conceit ;  the  whole 
picture  is  described  as  worthy  of  Murillo.  It  was  painted  for 
a  Franciscan  church  at  Madrid,  and  the  idea  became  so  popular, 
that  we  find  it  multiplied  and  varied  in  French  and  German 
prints  of  the  last  century ;  the  original  picture  remains  un- 
equalled for  its  pensive  poetical  grace ;  but  it  must  be  allowed 
that  the  idea,  which  at  first  view  strikes  from  its  singularity, 
is  worse  than  questionable  in  point  of  taste,  and  will  hardly 
bear  repetition.1 

There  are  some  ex-voto  pictures  of  the  Madonna  of  Mercy, 
which  record  individual  acts  of  gratitude.  One,  for  instance, 
by  Niccolo  Alunno  (Rome,  Pal.  Colonna),  in  which  the  Virgin, 
a  benign  and  dignified  creature,  stretches  forth  her  sceptre 
from  above,  and  rebukes  the  ugly  fiend  of  Sin,  about  to  seize 
a  boy.  The  mother  kneels  on  one  side,  with  eyes  uplifted,  in 
faith  and  trembling  supplication.  The  same  idea  I  have  seen 
repeated  in  a  picture  by  Lanfranco. 

The  innumerable  votive  pictures  which  represent  the  Ma- 
donna di  Misericordia  with  the  Child  in  her  arms,  I  shall 
notice  hereafter.  They  are  in  Catholic  countries  the  usual 
ornaments  of  charitable  institutions  and  convents  of  the  Order 
of  Mercy  ;  and  have,  as  I  cannot  but  think,  a  very  touching 
significance. 

The  Mater  Dolorosa 

Ital.  La  Madre  di  Dolore.  L'Addolorata.  Fr.  Notre  Dame  de 
Pitie.  La  Vierge  de  Douleur.  Spa.  Nuestra  Seiiora  de  Dolores. 
Ger.  Die  schmerzhafte  Mutter. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  the  devotional  subjects  proper 
to  the  Madonna  is  the  "  Mourning  Mother,"  the  Mater  Dolo- 
rosa, in  which  her  character  is  that  the  mother  of  the  crucified 
Redeemer ;  the  mother  of  the  atoning  Sacrifice ;  the  queen  of 
martyrs  ;  the  woman  whose  bosom  was  pierced  with  a  sharp 

1  [The  picture  is  referred  by  Mrs.  Jameson,  also  by  Stirling-Maxwell,  to  the 
Madrid  Gallery,  but  the  Prado  catalogue  of  1893  does  not  mention  it  under  the 
name  of  Alonzo  Miguel  de  Tobar.] 


THE   MATER   DOLOROSA 


93 


sword ;  through  whose  sorrow  the  world  was  saved,  whose 
anguish  was  our  joy,  and  to  whom  the  Roman  Catholic  Chris- 
tians address  their  prayers  as  consoler  of  the  afflicted,  because 
she  had  herself  tasted  of  the  bitterest  of  all  earthly  sorrow,  the 
pang  of  the  agonized  mother  for  the  loss  of  her  child. 

In  this  character  we  have  three  distinct  representations  of 
the  Madonna. 

Mater  Dolorosa.  In  the  first  she  appears  alone,  a  seated 
or  standing  figure,  often  the  head  or  half  length  only ;  the 
hands  clasped,  the  head  bowed  in  sor- 
row, tears  streaming  from  the  heavy 
eyes,  and  the  whole  expression  in- 
tensely mournful.  The  features  are 
properly  those  of  a  woman  in  middle 
age  ;  butvin  later  times  the  sentiment 
of  beauty  predominated  over  that  of 
the  mother's  agony ;  and  I  have  seen 
the  sublime  Mater  Dolorosa  trans- 
formed into  a  merely  beautiful  and 
youthful  maiden,  with  such  an  air  of 
sentimental  grief  as  might  serve  for 
the  loss  of  a  sparrow. 

Xot  so  with  the  older  heads ;  even 
those  of  the  Caracci  and  the  Spanish 
schools  have  often  a  wonderful  depth 
of  feeling. 

It  is  common  in  such  representations 
to  represent  the  Virgin  with  a  sword 
in  her  bosom,  and  even  with  seven 
swords,  in  allusion  to  the  seven  sor- 
rows. This  very  material  and  palpa- 
ble version  of  the  allegorical  prophecy 
(Luke  ii.  .35)  has  been  found  extremely 
effective  as  an  appeal  to  the  popular 
feelings,  so  that  there  are  few  Roman  Catholic  churches  without 
such  a  painful  and  literal  interpretation  of  the  text.  It  occurs 
perpetually  in  prints,  and  there  is  a  fine  example  after  Vandyck  ; 
sometimes  the  swords  are  placed  round  her  head  ;  but  there  is 
no  instance  of  such  a  figure  from  the  best  period  of  religious 
Art,  and  it  must  be  considered  as  anything  but  artistic  :  in  this 
case,  the  more  materialized  and  the  more  matter-of-fact,  the 
more  unreal. 


Stabat  Mater  (Angelico) 


94  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

Stabat  Mater.  A  second  representation  of  the  Madre  di 
Dolore  is  that  figure  of  the  Virgin  which,  from  the  very  earliest 
times,  was  placed  on  the  right  of  the  Crucifix,  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  being  invariably  on  the  left.  I  am  speaking  here 
of  the  crucifix  as  a  wholly  ideal  and  mystical  emblem  of  our 
faith  in  a  crucified  Saviour ;  not  of  the  crucifixion  as  an 
event,  in  which  the  Virgin  is  an  actor  and  spectator,  and  is 
usually  fainting  in  the  arms  of  her  attendants.  In  the  ideal 
subject  she  is  merely  an  ideal  figure,  at  once  the  mother  of 
Christ  and  the  personified  Church.  This,  I  think,  is  evident 
from  those  very  ancient  carvings,  and  examples  in  stained 
glass,  in  which  the  Virgin,  as  the  Church,  stands  on  one  side 
of  the  cross,  trampling  on  a  female  figure  which  personifies 
Judaism  or  the  synagogue.  Even  when  the  allegory  is  less 
palpable,  we  feel  that  the  treatment  is  wholly  religious  and 
poetical. 

The  usual  attitude  of  the  Mater  Dolorosa  by  the  crucifix 
is  that  of  intense  but  resigned  sorrow ;  the  hands  clasped,  the 
head  declined  and  shaded  by  a  veil,  the  figure  closely  wrapped 
in  a  dark  blue  or  violet  mantle.  In  some  instances  a  more 
generally  religious  and  ideal  cast  is  given  to  the  figure  ;  she 
stands  with  outspread  arms,  and  looking  up  ;  not  weeping,  but 
in  her  still  beautiful  face  a  mingled  expression  of  faith  and  an- 
guish.    This  is  the  true  conception  of  the  sublime  hymn, 

Stabat  Mater  Dolorosa 
Juxta  crueem  laclirymosa 
Duni  pendebat  lilius. 

In  the  sketch  after  Philippe  de  Champaigne  she  is  not 
standing,  but  seated  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  The  original 
picture  deserves  its  celebrity  ;   it  is  very  fine  and  solemn. 

La  Pieta.  The  third,  and  it  is  the  most  important  and 
most  beautiful  of  all  so  far  as  the  Virgin  is  concerned,  is  the 
y\  group  called  the  Pieta,  which,  when  strictly  devotional,  con- 
sists only  of  the  Virgin  with  her~TteaU  Son  in  her  arms,  or 
on  her  lap,  or  lying  at  her  feet  ;  in  some  instances  with  lament- 
ing angels,  but  no  other  personages.  This  group  has  been 
varied  in  a  thousand  ways ;  no  doubt  the  two  most  perfect 
conceptions  are  those  of  Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael  ;  the 
first  excelling  in  sublimity,  the  latter  in  pathos.  The  cele- 
brated marble  group  by  Michael  Angelo  stands  in  St.  Peter's 
in  a  chapel  to  the  right   as  we   enter.      The  Virgin   is   seated ; 


THE   MATER   DOLOROSA 


95 


Mater  Dolorosa  (P.  de  Champaigne) 


the  dead  Saviour  lies  across  the  knees  of  his  mother  ;  she  looks 
down  on  him  in  mingled  sorrow  and  resignation,  hut  the  majestic 
resignation  predominates.  The  composition  of  Raphael  exists 
only  as  a  print ; 1  but  the  flimsy  paper,  consecrated  through 
its  unspeakable  beauty,  is  likely  to  be  as  lasting  as  the  mar- 
ble. It  represents  the  Virgin  standing  with  outstretched  arms, 
and  looking  up  with  an  appealing  agonized  expression  towards 
heaven ;  before  her,  on  the  earth,  lies  extended  the  form  of 
the  Saviour.  In  tenderness,  dignity,  simplicity,  and  tragic 
pathos,  nothing  can  exceed  this  production  ;  the  head  of  the 
Virgin  in  particular  is  regarded  as  a  masterpiece,  so  far  exceed- 
ing in  delicacy  of  execution  every  other  work  of  Marc  An- 
tonio, that  some  have  thought  that  Raphael  himself  took  the 
burin  from  Ins  hand,  and  touched  himself  that  face  of  quiet 
woe. 

Another  example  of  wonderful  beauty  is  the  Pieta  by  Fran- 
cia,  in    our   National    Gallery.      The    form    of  Christ   lies    ex- 

1  [The  drawing  by  Raphael  is  in  the  Louvre,  and  is  reproduced  in  the  work 
on  Raphael  by  Eugene  Miintz.] 


96 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


tended  before  his  mother ;  a  lamenting  angel  sustains  the  head, 
another  is  at  the  feet ;  the  Virgin,  with  eyes  red  and  heavy 
with  weeping,  looks  out  of  the  picture.  There  needs  no  visi- 
ble sword  in  her  bosom  to  tell  what  anguish  has  pierced  that 
maternal  heart. 

There  is  another  Pieta,  by  Michael  Angelo,  quite  a  different 
conception.  The  Virgin  sits  at  the  foot  of  the  cross ;  before 
her,  and  half  sustained  by  her  knees,  lies  the  form  of  the  dead 
Saviour,  seen  in  front ;  his   arms  are  held  up  by  two  angels 


Pieta  (Michael  Angelo) 


(unwinged,  as  is  usual  with  Michael  Angelo).  The  Virgin 
looks  up  to  heaven  with  an  appealing  expression ;  and  in  one 
engraving  of  this  composition  the  cross  is  inscribed  with  the 
words,  "  Tu  non  pensi  quanto  sangue  costa."  There  is  no 
painting  by  Michael  Angelo  himself,  but  many  copies  and  en- 
gravings of  the  drawing.  A  beautiful  small  copy,  by  Mar- 
cello  Venusti,  is  in  the  Queen's  Gallery. 

There  is  yet  another  version  of  the  Pieta,  quite  mystical 
and  devotional  in   its   significance  —  but,  to  my  feeling,  more 


THE   MATER   DOLOROSA 


97 


Pieta  (Martin  Schoen) 


painful  and  material  than  poetical.  It  is  variously  treated ; 
for  example  :  1.  The  dead  Redeemer  is  seen  half  length  within 
the  tomb ;  his  hands  are  extended  to  show  his  wounds  ;  his 
eyes  are  closed,  Ids  head  declined,  his  bleeding  brow  encircled 
by  thorns.  On  one  side  is  the  Virgin,  on  the  other  St. 
John  the  Evangelist,  in  attitudes  of  profound  grief  and  com- 
lu  ii  ration.      2.   The  dead  form,  half  emerging  from  the  tomb, 


98  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

is  sustained  in  the  arms  of  the  Mater  Dolorosa.  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  on  the  other  side.     There  are  sometimes  angels. 

The  Pieta  thus  conceived  as  a  purely  religious  and  ideal  im- 
personation of  the  atoning  Sacrifice  is  commonly  placed  over 
the  altar  of  the  sacrament ;  and  in  many  altar-pieces  it  forms 
the  centre  of  the  predella,  just  in  front  where  the  mass  is 
celebrated,  or  on  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  where  the  Host  is 
deposited. 

When,  with  the  Mater  Dolorosa  and  St.  John,  Mary  Magda- 
lene is  introduced  with  her  dishevelled  hair,  the  group  ceases 
to  be  properly  a  Pieta,  and  becomes  a  representation  rather 
than  a  symbol. 

There  are  also  examples  of  a  yet  more  complex  but  still  per- 
fectly ideal  and  devotional  treatment,  in  which  the  Mourning 
Mother  is  attended  by  saints. 

A  most  celebrated  instance  of  this  treatment  is  the  Pieta  by 
Guido.  (Bologna  Gallery.)  In  the  upper  part  of  the  com- 
position, the  figure  of  the  dead  Redeemer  lies  extended  on  a 
white  shroud  ;  behind  him  stands  the  Virgin-mother,  with  her 
eyes  raised  to  heaven,  and  sad  appealing  face,  touched  with  so 
divine  a  sorrow  —  so  much  of  dignity  in  the  midst  of  infinite 
anguish,  that  I  know  nothing  finer  in  its  way.  Her  hands 
are  resignedly  folded  in  each  other,  not  raised,  not  clasped,  but 
languidly  drooping.  An  angel  stands  at  the  feet  of  Christ 
looking  on  with  a  tender  adoring  commiseration,  another,  at 
his  head,  turns  away  weeping.  A  kind  of  curtain  divides  this 
group  from  the  lower  part  of  the  picture,  where,  assembled 
on  a  platform,  stand  or  kneel  the  guardian  saints  of  Bologna : 
in  the  centre,  the  benevolent  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  who  just 
about  that  time  had  been  canonized  and  added  to  the  list 
of  the  patrons  of  Bologna  by  a  decree  of  the  senate  ;  on  the 
right,  St.  Dominick  and  St.  Petronius ;  on  the  left,  St.  Procu- 
lus  and  St.  Francis.  (  Vide  Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders, 
and  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art.)  These  sainted  personages  look 
up  as  if  adjuring  the  Virgin,  even  by  her  own  deep  anguish, 
to  intercede  for  the  city  ;  she  is  here  at  once  our  Lady  of 
Pity,  of  Succor,  and  of  Sorrow.  This  wonderful  picture  was 
dedicated,  as  an  act  of  penance  and  piety,  by  the  magistrates 
of  Bologna,  in  1616,  and  placed  in  their  chapel  in  the  church 
of  the  S.  "  Mendicanti,"  otherwise  Maria  della  Pieta.     It  hung 


OUK   LADY   OF   THE   IMMACULATE   CONCEPTION  99 

there  for  two  centuries,  for  the  consolation  of  the  afflicted  ;  it 
is  now  placed  in  the  Academy  of  Bologna  for  the  admiration 
of  connoisseurs. 


Our  Lady  of  the  Immaculate  Conception 

Ital.  La  Madonna  Purissima.  Lat.  Regina  sine  labe  originali 
concepta.  Spa.  Xuestra  senora  sin  peccado  concepida.  La  con- 
cepcion.  Fr.  La  Conception  de  la  Vierge  Marie.  Ger.  Das 
Geheimniss  der  unbeneckten  Empfangniss  Maria.     (Dec.  8.) 

The  last  and  the  latest  subject  in  which  the  Virgin  appears 
alone  without  the  Child  is  that  entitled  the  "  Immaculate 
Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin ;  "  and  sometimes  merely 
"  The  Conception."  There  is  no  instance  of  its  treatment 
in  the  earlier  schools  of  Art ;  but  as  one  of  the  most  popular 
subjects  of  the  Italian  and  Spanish  painters  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  one  very  frequently  misunderstood,  it  is 
necessary  to  go  into  the  history  of  its  origin. 

In  the  early  ages  of  Christianity,  it  was  usual  to  celebrate, 
as  festivals  of  the  Church,  the  Conception  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  Conception  of  his  kinsman  and  precursor,  John  the 
Baptist;  the  latter  as  miraculous,  the  former  as  being  at  once 
divine  and  miraculous.  In  the  eleventh  century  it  was  pro- 
posed to  celebrate  the  Conception  of  the  Virgin-mother  of  the 
Kedeemer. 

From  the  time  that  the  heresy  of  Nestorius  had  been 
condemned,  and  that  the  dignity  of  the  Virgin  as  Mother  of 
the  Divinity  had  become  a  point  of  doctrine,  it  was  not 
enough  to  advocate  her  excelling  virtue  and  stainless  purity  as 
a  mere  human  being.  It  was  contended,  that  having  been 
predestined  from  the  beginning  as  the  Woman  through  whom 
the  divine  nature  was  made  manifest  on  earth,  she  must  be 
presumed  to  be  exempt  from  all  sin,  even  from  that  original 
taint  inherited  from  Adam.  Through  the  first  Eve,  we  had 
all  died  ;  through  the  second  Eve,  we  had  all  been  "  made 
alive."  It  was  argued  that  God  had  never  suffered  his  earthly 
temple  to  be  profaned;  had  even  promulgated  in  person 
severe  ordinances  to  preserve  its  sanctuary  inviolate.  How 
much  more  to  him  was  that  temple,  that  tabernacle  built  by 
no  human  hands,  in  which  he  had  condescended  to  dwell! 
Nothing  was  impossible  to  God ;  it  lay,  therefore,  in  his  power 


100  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

to  cause  his  Mother  to  come  absolutely  pure  and  immaculate 
into  the  world:  being  in  his  power,  could  any  earnest  wor- 
shipper of  the  Virgin  doubt  for  a  moment  that  for  one  so 
favored  it  would  not  be  done  ?  Such  was  the  reasoning  of 
our  forefathers  ;  and,  the  premises  granted,  who  shall  call  it 
illogical  or  irreverent  ? 

For  three  or  four  centuries,  from  the  seventh  to  the  elev- 
enth, these  ideas  had  been  gaining  ground.  St.  Ildefonso  of 
Seville  distinguished  himself  by  his  writings  on  the  subject ; 
and  how  the  Virgin  recompensed  his  zeal,  Murillo  has  shown 
us,  and  I  have  related  in  the  life  of  that  saint.  (Legends 
of  the  Monastic  Orders,  p.  56.)  But  the  first  mention  of  a 
festival,  or  solemn  celebration  of  thp  Mystery  of  the  Immacu- 
late Conception,  may  be  traced  to  an  English  monk  of  the 
eleventh  century,  whose  name  is  not  recorded.  (  Vide  Baillet.) 
When,  however,  it  was  proposed  to  give  the  papal  sanction  to 
this  doctrine  as  an  article  of  belief,  and  to  institute  a  church 
office  for  the  purpose  of  celebrating  the  Conception  of  Mary, 
there  arose  strong  opposition.  What  is  singular,  St.  Ber- 
nard, so  celebrated  for  his  enthusiastic  devotion  to  the  Virgin, 
was  most  strenuous  and  eloquent  in  his  disapprobation.  He 
pronounced  no  judgment  against  those  who  received  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  he  rather  leaned  towards 
it ;  but  he  opposed  the  institution  of  the  festival  as  an  inno- 
vation not  countenanced  by  the  early  fathers  of  the  Church. 
After  the  death  of  St.  Bernard,  for  about  a  hundred  years  the 
dispute  slept ;  but  the  doctrine  gained  ground.  The  thirteenth 
century,  so  remarkable  for  the  manifestation  of  religious  en- 
thusiasm in  all  its  forms,  beheld  the  revival  of  this  celebrated 
controversy.  A  certain  Franciscan  friar,  Duns  Scotus  (John 
Scott  of  Dunse),  entered  the  lists  as  champion  for  the  Virgin. 
He  was  opposed  by  the  Dominicans  and  their  celebrated  po- 
lemic, Thomas  Aquinas,  who,  like  St.  Bernard,  was  known  for 
his  enthusiastic  reverence  for  the  Virgin  ;  but,  like  him,  and 
on  the  same  grounds,  objected  to  the  introduction  of  new 
forms.      Thus  the  theological  schools  were  divided. 

During  the  next  two  hundred  years  the  belief  became  more 
and  more  general,  the  doctrine  more  and  more  popular  ;  still 
the  Church,  while  it  tolerated  both,  refused  to  ratify  either. 
All  this  time  we  find  no  particular  representation  of  the 
favorite  dogma  in  Art,  for  until  ratified  by  the  authority  of  the 


OUK   LADY   OF   THE   IMMACULATE   CONCEPTION         101 

Church,  it  could  not  properly  enter  into  ecclesiastical  decora- 
tion. We  find,  however,  that  the  growing  helief  in  the  pure 
Conception  and  miraculous  sanctification  of  the  Virgin  multi- 
plied the  representations  of  her  coronation  and  glorification,  as 
the  only  permitted  expression  of  the  popular  enthusiasm  on 
this  point.  For  the  powerful  Order  of  the  Franciscans,  who 
were  at  this  time  and  for  a  century  afterwards  the  most  ardent 
champions  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  were  painted  most 
of  the  pictures  of  the  Coronation  produced  during  the  four- 
teenth century. 

The  first  papal  decree  touching  the  Immaculate  Conception 
as  an  article  of  faith  was  promulgated  in  the  reign  of  Sixtus 
IV.,  who  had  been  a  Franciscan  friar,  and  he  took  the  earliest 
opportunity  of  giving  the  solemn  sanction  of  the  Church  to 
what  had  ever  been  the  favorite  dogma  of  his  Order ;  but 
the  celebration  of  the  festival,  never  actually  forbidden,  had 
by  this  time  become  so  usual,  that  the  papal  ordinance  merely 
sanctioned  without,  however,  rendering  it  obligatory.  An  office 
was  composed  for  the  festival,  and  in  1496  the  Sorbonne  de- 
clared in  favor  of  it.  Still  it  remained  a  point  of  dispute  ; 
still  there  were  dissentient  voices,  principally  among  the  Do- 
minican theologians ;  and  from  1500  to  1600  we  find  this 
controversy  occupying  the  pens  of  the  ecclesiastics,  and  excit- 
ing the  interest  and  the  imagination  of  the  people.  In  Spain 
the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Virgin,  owing  perhaps  to 
the  popularity  and  power  of  the  Franciscans  in  that  country, 
had  long  been  "  the  darling  dogma  of  the  Spanish  Church." 
Villegas,  in  the  "Flos  Sanctorum,"  while  admitting  the  mod- 
ern origin  of  the  opinion,  and  the  silence  of  the  Church,  con- 
tended that,  had  this  great  fact  been  made  manifest  earlier  and 
in  less  enlightened  times,  it  might  possibly  have  led  to  the 
error  of  worshipping  the  Virgin  as  an  actual  goddess.  (Stir- 
ling-Maxwell's Annals  of  the  Artists  of  Spain,  vol.  iii.  p.  1074). 
To  those  who  are  conversant  with  Spanish  theology  and  art,  it 
may  seem  that  the  distinction  drawn  in  theory  is  not  very 
definite  or  perceptible  in  practice. 

At  length,  in  July,  1615,  Paul  V.  formally  instituted  the 
office  commemorating  the  Immaculate  Conception,  and  in  1617 
issued  a  bull  forbidding  any  one  to  teach  or  preach  a  contrary 
opinion.  "On  the  publication  of  this  bull,  Seville  flew  into  a 
frenzy  of  religious  joy."      The  archbishop  performed  a  solemn 


102  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

service  in  the  cathedral.  Cannon  roared,  and  bull-fights,  tourna- 
ments, and  banquets  celebrated  this  triumph  of  the  votaries  of 
the  Virgin.  Spain  and  its  dependencies  were  solemnly  placed 
under  the  protection  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  thus  per- 
sonifying an  abstract  idea ;  and  to  this  day  a  Spaniard  salutes 
his  neighbor  with  the  angelic  "Ave  Maria  purisima!  "  and  he 
responds  "  Sin  peccado  concepida  !  "  1 

I  cannot  find  the  date  of  the  earliest  picture  of  the  Immacu- 
late Conception ;  but  the  first  writer  on  the  art  who  makes 
allusion  to  the  subject,  and  lays  down  specific  rules  from  eccle- 
siastical authority  for  its  proper  treatment,  is  the  Spaniard 
Pacheco,  who  must  have  been  about  forty  years  of  age  when 
the  bull  was  published  at  Seville  in  1618.  It  is  soon  after 
this  time  that  we  first  hear  of  pictures  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception. Pacheco  subsequently  became  a  familiar  of  the  Inqui- 
sition, and  wielded  the  authority  of  the  holy  office  as  inspector 
of  sacred  pictures ;  and  in  his  "  Arte  de  la  Pintura,"  published 
in  1649,  he  laid  down  those  rules  for  the  representation  which 
had  been  generally,  though  not  always,  exactly  followed. 

It  is  evident  that  the  idea  is  taken  from  the  woman  in  the 
Apocalypse,  "  clothed  with  the  sun,  having  the  moon  under 
her  feet,  and  on  her  head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars."  The  Vir- 
gin is  to  be  portrayed  in  the  first  spring  and  bloom  of  youth 
as  a  maiden  of  about  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age  ;  with 
"grave  sweet  eyes;  "  her  hair  golden  ;  her  features  "with  all 
the  beauty  painting  can  express ;  "  her  hands  are  to  be  folded 
on  her  bosom  or  joined  in  prayer.  The  sun  is  to  be  expressed 
by  a  flood  of  light  around  her.  The  moon  under  her  feet  is 
to  have  the  horns  pointing  downwards,  because  illuminated 
from  above,  and  the  twelve  stars  are  to  form  a  crown  over  her 
head.  The  robe  must  be  of  spotless  white ;  the  mantle  or 
scarf  blue.  Round  her  are  to  hover  cherubim  bearing  roses, 
palms,  and  lilies  ;  the  head  of  the  bruised  and  vanquished  dragon 
is  to  be  under  her  feet.  She  ought  to  have  the  cord  of  St. 
Francis  as  a  girdle,  because  in  this  guise  she  appeared  to  Beatriz 
de  Silva,  a  noble  Franciscan  nun,  who  was  favored  by  a  celes- 

1  In  our  own  days  we  have  seen  this  curious  controversy  revived.  One  of  the 
latest,  if  not  the  last,  writer  on  the  subject  was  Cardinal  LambruBchiui ;  and 
the  last  papal  ordinance  was  promulgated  by  Pio  Nono,  and  dated  from  Gaeta, 
1849. 


OUR   LADY    OF   THE   IMMACULATE   CONCEPTION         103 

tial  vision  of  the  Madonna  in  her  beatitude.  Perhaps  the 
good  services  of  the  Franciscans  as  champions  of  the  Immacu- 
late Conception  procured  them  the  honor  of  being  thus  com- 
memorated. 

All  these  accessories  are  not  absolutely  and  rigidly  required  ; 
and  Murillo,  who  is  entitled  i^ar  excellence  the  painter  of  the 
Conception,  sometimes  departed  from  the  letter  of  the  law 
without  being  considered  as  less  orthodox.  With  him  the 
crescent  moon  is  sometimes  the  full  moon,  or,  when  a  crescent, 
the  horns  point  upwards  instead  of  downwards.  He  usually 
omits  the  starry  crown,  and,  in  spite  of  his  predilection  for  the 
Capuchin  Order,  the  cord  of  St.  Francis  is  in  most  instances 
dispensed  with.  He  is  exact  with  regard  to  the  colors  of  the 
drapery,  but  not  always  in  the  color  of  the  hair.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  beauty  and  expression  of  the  face  and  attitude,  the 
mingled  loveliness,  dignity,  and  purity,  are  given  with  exqui- 
site feeling ;  and  we  are  never,  as  in  his  other  representations 
of  the  Madonna,  reminded  of  commonplace,  homely,  often 
peasant,  portraiture ;  here  all  is  spotless  grace,  ethereal  deli- 
cacy, benignity,  refinement,  repose  —  the  very  apotheosis  of 
womanhood. 

I  must  go  back  to  observe,  that  previous  to  the  promulga- 
tion of  the  famous  bull  of  Pope  Paul  V.,  the  popular  ideas 
concerning  the  Immaculate  Conception  had  left  their  impress 
on  Art.  Before  the  subject  had  taken  an  express  and  author- 
ized form,  we  find  pictures  which,  if  they  do  not  represent  it, 
relate  to  it.  I  remember  two  which  cannot  be  otherwise  inter- 
preted, and  there  are  probably  others. 

The  first  is  a  curious  picture  of  the  early  Florentine  school 
(Berlin  Gallery).1  In  the  centre  is  original  sin,  represented 
by  Eve  and  the  Serpent;  on  the  right  stand  St.  Ambrose,  St. 
Hilarius,  St.  Anselm,  and  St.  Bernard  ;  on  the  left,  St.  Cyril, 
Origen,  St.  Augustine,  and  St.  Cyprian  ;  and  below  are  inscribed 
passages  from  the  writings  <>f  these  fathers,  relating  to  the 
Immaculate  Conception  <»f  the  Virgin  ;  all  of  them  had  given 
to  her  in  their  works  the  title  of  Immaculate,  most  pure  ;  but 
they  differed  as  to  the  period  of  her  sanctification,  as  to  whether 
it  was  in  the  moment  of  conception  or  at  the  moment  of  birth. 

The  other  picture  is  in  the   Dresden  Gallery,  and  one  of  the 

1  [No  picture  of  this  description  is  catalogued  to  the  Florentine  school  in  the 
IJ.-rl in  catalogue  of  1891.] 


104  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

finest  productions  of  that  extraordinary  Ferrarese  painter,  Dosso 
Dossi.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  picture  are  the  four  Latin 
Fathers,  turning  over  their  great  books,  or  in  deep  meditation ; 
behind  them,  the  Franciscan  Bernardino  of  Siena.  (See  Legends 
of  the  Monastic  Orders,  p.  304.)  Above,  in  a  glory  of  light, 
the  Virgin,  clothed,  not  in  spotless  white,  but  in  a  richly  em- 
broidered regal  mantle,  "  wrought  about  with  divers  colors," 
kneels  at  the  feet  of  the  Almighty,  who  extends  his  hand  in 
benediction.  I  find  no  account  in  the  catalogue  whence  this 
picture  was  taken,  but  it  was  evidently  painted  for  the  Fran- 
ciscans.1 

In  1617,  when  the  bull  of  Paul  V.  was  formally  expedited, 
Guido  was  attached  to  the  papal  court  in  quality  of  painter, 
and  an  especial  favorite  with  his  Holiness.  Among  the  earliest 
accredited  pictures  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  are  four  of 
his  finest  works. 

1.  The  cupola  of  the  private  chapel  of  the  Quirinal  repre- 
sents the  Almighty  meditating  the  great  miracle  of  the  Immac- 
ulate Conception,  and  near  him,  within  the  same  glory  of  light, 
is  the  Virgin  in  her  white  tunic,  and  in  an  attitude  of  adora- 
tion. This  was  painted  about  1610  or  1611,  when  Pope  Paul 
V.  was  meditating  the  promulgation  of  his  famous  ordinance. 

2.  The  great  picture,  also  painted  for  Paul  V.,  represents 
the  doctors  of  the  Church  arguing  and  consulting  their  great 
books  for  the  authorities  on  the  subject  of  the  Conception 
(St.  Petersburg).2  Above,  the  Virgin  is  seated  in  glory,  ar- 
rayed in  spotless  white,  her  hands  crossed  over  her  bosom, 
and  her  eyes  turned  towards  the  celestial  fountain  of  light. 
Below  are  six  doctors,  consulting  their  books ;  they  are  not 
well  characterized,  being  merely  so  many  ideal  heads  in  a  man- 
nered style  ;  but  I  believe  they  represent  the  four  Latin  Fathers, 
with  St.  John  Damascene  and  St.  Ildefonso,  who  were  especial 
defenders  of  the  doctrine. 

3.  The  next  in  point  of  date  was  painted  for  the  Infanta  of 
Spain,  which  I  believe  to  be  the  same  now  in  the  possession 
of  Lord  Ellesmere.  The  figure  of  the  Virgin,  crowned  with 
the  twelve  stars,  and  relieved  from  a  background  of  golden 
light,  is  standing  on  a  crescent  sustained  by  three  cherubs  be- 

1  [See  illustration  in  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  p.  278.] 

2  There  is  a  fine  engraving. 


OUR   LADY   OF   THE   IMMACULATE   CONCEPTION         105 

neath :  she  seems  to  float  between  heaven  and  earth ;  on  either 
side  is  a  seraph,  with  hands  folded  and  looks  upraised  in  adora- 
tion. The  whole  painted  in  Ins  silvery  tone,  with  such  an 
extreme  delicacy  and  transparency  of  effect,  that  it  might  be 
styled,  "  a  vision  of  the  Immaculate  Conception." 

4.  The  fourth  was  painted  for  the  chapel  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  in  the  church  of  San  Biagio  at  Forli,  and  is  there 
still. 

Just  as  the  Italian  schools  of  painting  were  on  the  decline, 
the  Spanish  school  of  art  arose  in  all  its  glory,  and  the  "  Con- 
ception "  became,  from  the  popularity  of  the  dogma,  not  merely 
an  ecclesiastical,  but  a  popular  subject.  Not  only  every  church, 
but  almost  every  private  house,  contained  the  effigy,  either 
painted  or  carved,  or  both,  of  our  Lady,  "  sin  peccado  con- 
cepida ;"  and  when  the  academy  of  painting  was  founded  at 
Seville,  in  1660,  every  candidate  for  admission  had  to  declare 
his  orthodox  belief  in  the  most  pure  Conception  of  our  Lady. 

The  finest  Spanish  Conception  before  the  time  of  Murillo, 
is  by  Eoelas,  who  died  in  1625 ;  it  is  in  the  Academy  at  Se- 
ville, and  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  Ford  as  "  equal  to  Guido."  1 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  characteristic,  as  well  as 
earliest,  examples  of  this  subject  I  have  seen,  is  a  picture  in 
the  Esterhazy  Gallery  at  Vienna.  The  Virgin  is  in  the  first 
bloom  of  girlhood  ;  she  looks  not  more  than  nine  or  ten  years 
old,  with  dark  hair,  Spanish  features,  and  a  charming  expres- 
sion of  childlike  simplicity  and  devotion.  She  stands  amid 
clouds,  with  her  hands  joined,  and  the  proper  white  and  blue 
drapery :  there  are  no  accessories.  This  picture  is  attributed 
to  an  obscure  painter,  Lazaro  Tavarone,  of  whom  I  can  learn 
nothing  more  than  that  he  was  employed  in  the  Escurial 
about  1590. 

The  beautiful  small  Conception  by  Velasquez,  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Mr.  [Bartle]  Frere,  is  a  departure  from  the  rules 
laid  down  by  Pacheco  in  regard  to  costume ;  therefore,  as  I 
presume,  painted  before  he  entered  the  studio  of  the  artist- 
inquisitor,  whose  son-in-law  he  became  before  he  was  three- 
and-twenty.  Here  the  Virgin  is  arrayed  in  a  pale  violet  robe, 
with   a  dark   blue   mantle.      Her   hands   are  joined,  and    she 

1  Ilnmlboiik  <>/'  8pain.     A  very  fine  picture  of  this  subject,  by  Roelas,  was 
sold  out  of  the  Soult  collection. 


106  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

looks  down.  The  solemnity  and  depth  of  expression  in  the 
sweet  girlish  face  is  very  striking ;  the  more  so,  that  it  is  not 
a  beautiful  face,  and  has  the  air  of  a  portrait.  Her  long  hair 
flows  over  her  shoulders.  The  figure  is  relieved  against  a 
bright  sun,  with  fleecy  clouds  around  ;  and  the  twelve  stars 
are  over  her  head.  She  stands  on  the  round  moon,  of  which 
the  upper  half  is  illumined.  Below,  on  earth,  and  through  the 
deep  shadow,  are  seen  several  of  the  emblems  of  the  Virgin  — 
the  fountain,  the  temple,  the  olive,  the  cypress,  and  the  garden 
inclosed  in  a  treillage  of  roses.  (  Vide  Introduction  :  The  Sym- 
bols and  Attributes  of  the  Virgin.)  This  picture  is  very  re- 
markable ;  it  is  in  the  earliest  manner  of  Velasquez,  painted  in 
the  bold  free  style  of  his  first  master,  Herrara,  whose  school  he 
quitted  when  he  was  about  seventeen  or  eighteen,  just  at  the 
period  when  the  Pope's  ordinance  was  proclaimed  at  Seville. 

Of  twenty-five  pictures  of  this  subject,  painted  by  Murillo, 
there  are  not  two  exactly  alike ;  and  they  are  of  all  sizes,  from 
the  colossal  figure  called  the  "  Great  Conception  of  Seville," 
to  the  exquisite  miniature  representation  in  the  possession  of 
Lord  Overston,  not  more  than  fifteen  inches  in  height.  Lord 
Lansdowne  has  also  a  beautiful  small  Conception,  very  simply 
treated.  [Lansdowne  House,  London.]  In  those  which  have 
dark  hair,  Murillo  is  said  to  have  taken  his  daughter,  Fran- 
cisca,  as  a  model.  The  number  of  attendant  angels  varies  from 
one  or  two  to  thirty.  They  bear  the  palm,  the  olive,  the  rose, 
the  lily,  the  mirror  ;  sometimes  a  sceptre  and  crown.  I  remem- 
ber but  few  instances  in  which  he  has  introduced  the  dragon- 
fiend,  an  omission  which  Pacheco  is  willing  to  forgive  ;  "  for," 
as  he  observes,  "  no  man  ever  painted  the  devil  with  good  will." 

In  the  Louvre  picture,  the  Virgin  is  adored  by  three  ecclesi- 
astics. In  another  example,  quoted  by  Mr.  Stirling,  a  friar  is 
seen  writing  at  her  feet :  this  figure  probably  represents  her 
champion,  the  friar  Duns  Scotus.  There  is  at  Hampton  Court 
a  picture,  by  Spagnoletto,  of  this  same  Duns  Scotus  writing 
his  defence  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  Spagnoletto  was 
painting  at  Naples,  when,  in  1618,  "  the  Viceroy  solemnly 
swore,  in  presence  of  the  assembled  multitude,  to  defend  with 
his  life  the  doctrine  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  ;  "  and  this 
picture,  curious  and  striking  in  its  way,  was  painted  about  the 
same  time. 


IMMACULATE   CONCEPTION  (Murillo) 


OUR   LADY    OF   THE    IMMACULATE   CONCEPTION 


107 


In  Italy  the  decline  of  Art  in  the  seventeenth  century  is 
nowhere  more  apparent,  or  more  offensive,  than  in  this  snhject. 
A  finished  example  of  the  most  execrable  taste  is  the  mosaic 
in  St.  Peter's,  after  Pietro  Bianchi.  There  exists,  somewhere, 
a  picture  of  the  Conception,  by  Le  Brun,  in  which  the  Virgin 
has  no  other  drapery  than  a  thin 
transparent  gauze,  and  has  the  air 
of  a  Venus  Meretrix.  In  some  old 
French  prints  the  Virgin  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  number  of  angels,  de- 
fending her  with  shield  and  buckler 
against  demons  who  are  taking  aim 
at  her  with  fiery  arrows.  Such,  and 
even  worse,  vagaries  and  perversi- 
ties are  to  be  found  in  the  innumer- 
able pictures  of  this  favorite  subject 
which  inundated  the  churches  be- 
tween 1640  and  1720.  Of  these  I 
shall  say  no  more.  The  pictures  of 
Guido  and  Murillo,  and  the  carved 
figures  of  Alonzo  Cano,  Montanez, 
and  Hernandez,  may  be  regarded 
as  authorized  effigies  of  "  Our  Lady 
of  the  most  pure  Conception ;  "  in 
other  words,  as  embodying,  in  the 
most  attractive,  decorous,  and  intel- 
ligible form,  an  abstract  theological 
dogma,  which  is  in  itself  one  of  the 
most  curious,  and,  in  its  results, 
one  of  the    most   important   of   the 

religious  phenomena  connected  with  the  artistic  representations 
of  the  Virgin.1 

We  must  be  careful  to  discriminate  between  the  Conception, 
so   styled   by  ecclesiastical    authority,   and   that   singular   and 

1  We  often  find  on  pictures  and  prints  of  die  Immaculate  Conception  certain 
scriptural  texts  which  the  theologians  of  the  Roman  Church  have  applied  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin;  for  instance,  from  l's.  xliv.,  "  Omnis  gloria  ejus  filial  reps  ab 
intus,"  —  "The  king's  daughter  is  all  glorious  within  ;"  or  from  the  Canticles, 
iv.  7,  "Tota  pulchra  en,  amica  mea,  et  macula  non  est  in  te,"  —  "Thou  art  all 
fair,  my  love;  there  i>  no  spot  in  thee."  I  have  also  seen  the  texts  Pa.  xxii.  10, 
and  I'rov.  viii.  22,  23,  xxxi.  2!t,  thus  applied,  as  well  as  other  passages  from  the 
very  poetical  office  of  the  Virgin,  In  Ftsto  Immaculate  C'oJictjjliuuis. 


Immaculate  Conception 
(Guido) 


108  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

mystical  representation  which  is  sometimes  called  the   "Pre- 
destination of  Mary,"  and   sometimes  the    "Litanies  of    the 
Virgin."     Collectors  and  writers  on  Art  must  bear  in  mind, 
that  the  former,  as  a  subject,  dates  only  from  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  latter  from  the  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth.      Although,  as  representations,  so  very  similar, 
yet  the  intention  and  meaning  are  different.     In  the  Conception 
it  is  the  sinless  Virgin,  in  her  personal  character,  who  is  held 
up  to  reverence  as  the  purest,  wisest,  holiest  of  created  beings. 
The  earlier  theme  involves  a  yet  more  recondite  signification. 
It  is  undoubtedly  to  be  regarded  as  an  attempt  on  the  part  of 
the  artist  to  express,  in  a  visible  form,  the  idea  or  promise 
of  the  redemption  of  the  human  race,  as  existing  in  the  Sover- 
eign Mind  before  the  beginning  of  things.      They  do  not  per- 
sonify this  idea  under  the  image  of  Christ,  —  for  they  conceived 
that,  as  the  second  person   of  the  Trinity,  he  could  not  be  his 
own  instrument,  —  but  by  the  image  of  Mary  surrounded  by 
those   attributes    which   were  afterwards  introduced  into   the 
pictures  of  the  Conception,  or  setting  her  foot,  as  second  Eve, 
on  the  head  of  the  prostrate  serpent.     Not  seldom,  in  a  series 
of   subjects   from   the   Old   Testament,   the  pendant   to   Eve 
holding  the  apple  is  Mary  crushing  the  head  of  the  fiend  ;   and 
thus  the  "bane  and  antidote  are  both  before  us."     This  is  the 
proper  interpretation  of  those  effigies,  so  prevalent  in  every 
form  of  Art  during  the  sixteenth  century,  and  which  are  often, 
but  erroneously,  styled   the   Immaculate  Conception.     Those 
pictures  which  represent  the  Virgin  Mary  kneeling  before  the 
celestial    throne,    while    the    Padre    Eterno    or    the    Messiah 
extends  his  hand  or  his  sceptre  towards  her,  are  generally  mis- 
understood.    They  do  not  represent  the  Assumption,  nor  yet 
the  reception  of  Mary  in  heaven,  as  is  usually  supposed ;  but 
the  election  or  predestination  of  Mary  as  the  immaculate  vehi- 
cle or  tabernacle  of  human  redemption,  —  the  earthly  parent  of 
the  divine  Saviour.      An  example  may  be  cited  in  a  beautiful 
and   celebrated  picture  by  Francia,  now  in  the  church  of  San 
Frediano  at  Lucca.      Above,  in  the  glory  of  heaven,  the  Virgin 
kneels  before  the  throne  of  the  Creator ;  she  is  clad  in  regal 
attire  of  purple  and  crimson  and  gold ;   and  she  bends  her  fair 
crowned  head,  and  folds  her  hands  upon  her  bosom  with  an  ex- 
pression  of  meek  yet  dignified  resignation,  —  "  Behold  the  hand- 
maid of  the  Lord!"  — accepting,  as  woman,  that  highest  glory, 


OUR   LADY   OF   THE    IMMACULATE   CONCEPTION         109 

as  mother,  that  extremest  grief,  to  which  the  divine  will,  as 
spoken  by  the  prophets  of  old,  had  called  her.  Below,  on  the 
earth  and  to  the  right  hand,  stand  David  and  Solomon,  as 
prophets  and  kingly  ancestors :  on  the  left  hand,  St.  Augustine 
and  St.  Ansel m  in  their  episcopal  robes.  (I  have  mentioned, 
with  regard  to  the  office  in  honor  of  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion, that  the  idea  is  said  to  have  originated  in  England.  I 
should  also  have  added,  that  Anselm,  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, was  its  strenuous  advocate.)  Each  of  these  personages 
holds  a  scroll.  On  that  of  David  the  reference  is  to  the  fourth 
and  fifth  verses  of  Psalm  xxvii. :  "  In  the  secret  of  his  taber- 
nacle shall  he  hide  me."  On  that  of  Solomon  is  the  text  from 
his  Song,  ch.  iv.  7.  On  that  of  St.  Augustine,  a  quotation,  I 
presume,  from  his  works,  but  difficult  to  make  out ;  it  seems 
to  be,  "  In  ccelo  qualisest  Pater,  talis  est  Filius ;  qualis  est 
Filius,  talis  est  Mater."  On  that  of  St.  Anselm  the  same 
inscription  which  is  on  the  picture  of  Cotignola,  "  non  puto 
vere  esse,"  etc.,  which  is,  I  suppose,  taken  from  his  works.  In 
the  centre,  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  kneels  beside  the  sepulchre 
full  of  lilies  and  roses,  showing  the  picture  to  have  been 
painted  for,  or  under  the  influence  of,  the  Franciscan  Order; 
and,  like  other  pictures  of  the  same  class,  "  an  attempt  to  ex- 
press in  a  visible  form  the  idea  or  promise  of  the  redemption 
of  the  human  race,  as  existing  in  the  Sovereign  Eternal  Mind 
before  the  beginning  of  the  world."  This  altar-piece  has  no 
date,  but  appears  to  have  been  painted  about  the  same  time  as 
the  picture  in  our  National  Gallery,  which  came  from  the  same 
church.  As  a  work  of  Art  it  is  most  wonderfully  beautiful. 
The  editors  of  the  last  excellent  edition  of  Vasari  speak  of  it 
with  just  enthusiasm  as  "  Opera  veramente  stupenda  in  ogni 
parte  !  "  The  predella  beneath,  painted  in  chiaroscuro,  is  also 
of  exquisite  beauty  ;  and  let  us  hope  that  we  shall  never  see 
it  separated  from  the  great  subject,  like  a  page  or  a  paragraph 
torn  out  of  a  book,  by  ignorant  and  childish  collectors. 

The  numerous  heads  of  the  Virgin  which  proceeded  from 
the  later  schools  of  Italy  and  Spain,  wherein  she  appears 
neither  veiled  nor  crowned,  but  very  young,  and  with  flowing 
hair  and  white  vesture,  are  intended  to  embody  the  popular 
idea  of  the  Madonna  purissima,  of  "the  Virgin  most  pure. 
conceived  without  sin,"  in  an  abridged  form.  There  is  one  by 
Mmillo.  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  [Robert  8.]  Holford  [Weston 
Birt,  Tetbury,  Gloucestershire]. 


110  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

Before  quitting  the  subject  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
I  must  refer  to  a  very  curious  picture  called  an  Assumption, 
but  certainly  painted  at  least  one  hundred  years  before  the 
Immaculate  Conception  was  authorized  as  a  church  subject. 

From  the  year  1496,  when  Sixtus  IV.  promulgated  his  Bull, 
and  the  Sorbonne  put  forth  their  famous  decree,  —  at  a  time 
when  there  was  less  of  faith  and  religious  feeling  in  Italy  than 
ever  before,  —  this  abstract  dogma  became  a  sort  of  watchword 
with  theological  disputants  ;  not  ecclesiastics  only,  the  literati 
and  the  reigning  powers  took  an  interest  in  the  controversy, 
and  were  arrayed  on  one  side  or  the  other.  The  Borgias,  for 
instance,  were  opposed  to  it.  Just  at  this  period,  the  singular 
picture  I  allude  to  was  painted  by  Girolamo  da  Cotignola.  It 
is  mentioned  by  Lanzi,  but  his  account  of  it  is  not  quite 
correct. 

Above,  in  glory,  is  seen  the  Padre  Eterno,  surrounded  by 
cherubim  bearing  a  scroll,  on  which  is  inscribed,  "  Kon  enirn 
pro  te  sed  pro  omnibus  hsec  lex  constitutura  est."  1  Lower 
down,  the  Virgin  stands  on  clouds,  with  hands  joined,  and  at- 
tired in  a  white  tunic  embroidered  with  gold,  a  blue  mantle 
lined  with  red,  and,  which  is  quite  singular  and  unorthodox, 
black  shoes.  Below,  on  the  earth,  and  to  the  right,  stands  a 
bishop,  without  a  glory,  holding  a  scroll  on  which  is  inscribed, 
"Non  puto  vere  esse  amatorem  Virginis  qui  respuit  celebrare 
Festum  suae  Conceptionis  ;  "  on  the  left  is  St.  Jerome.  In 
the  centre  are  three  kneeling  figures  :  on  one  side  St.  Catherine 
(or  perhaps  Caterina  Sforza,  in  the  character  of  St.  Catherine, 
for  the  head  looks  like  a  portrait)  ;  on  the  other  an  elderly 
woman,  Ginevra  Tiepolo,  widow  of  Giovanni  Sforza,  last  prince 
of  Pesaro ;  2  between  them  the  little  Costanzo  Sforza,  looking 
up  with  a  charming  devout  expression.3  Underneath  is  in- 
scribed,   "  JlJNIPERA    SFORTIA    PaTRIA  A  MARITO   RECEPTA. 

Exvoto  mccccoxii."  Giovanni  Sforza  had  been  dispossessed 
of  his  dominions  by  the  Borgias,  after  his  divorce  from  Lucrezia, 
and  died  in  1501.  The  Borgias  ceased  to  reign  in  1512  ;  and 
Ginevra,   apparently   restored   to    her  country,   dedicated    this 

1  From  the  Office  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

2  This  Giovanni  was  the  first  husband  of  Lucrezia  Borgia. 

3  Lanzi  calls  this  child  Costanzo  II.,  prince  of  Pesaro.  Very  interesting 
memoirs  of  all  the  personages  here  referred  to  may  be  found  in  Mr.  Dennistoun'a 
Dukts  of  Urbino. 


OUR   LADY    OF    THE    IMMACULATE    CONCEPTION         111 

picture,  at  once  a  memorial  of  her  gratitude  and  of  her  faith. 
It  remained  over  the  high  altar  of  the  church  of  the  Serviti, 
at  Pesaro,  till  acquired  by  Mr.  Solly,  from  whom  it  was  pur- 
chased by  Mr.  Bromley.1  [Sold  from  the  Bromley  collection 
in  1863  to  the  Marquis  of  Bath.  Vide  Bedford's  Sales,  vol. 
ii.  p.  227.] 

l  Girolamo  Marchesi  da  Cotignola  was  a  painter  of  the  Francia  school,  whose 
works  date  from  about  1500'  to  1550.  Those  of  his  pictures  which  I  have  seen 
are  of  very  unequal  merit,  and,  with  much  feeling  and  expression  in  t he  heads, 
are  often  mannered  and  fantastic  as  compositions.  This  agrees  with  what 
Vasari  says,  that  his  excellence  lay  in  portraiture,  for  which  reason  he  was  sum- 
moned, after  the  battle  of  Ravenna,  to  paint  the  portrait  of  Gaston  de  Foix  as  he 
lay  dead.  (See  Vasari,  Vita  di  Bagnacavallo ;  and  in  the  English  trans.  [1851], 
vol.  iii.  p-  331.)  The  picture  above  described,  which  has  a  sort  of  historical  in- 
terest, is  perhaps  the  same  mentioned  in  Murray's  Handbook  (Central  Italy),  as 
an  enthroned  Madonna,  dated  1513,  and  as  being  in  1843  in  its  original  place 
over  the  altar  in  the  Serviti  at  Pesaro;  if  so,  it  is  there  no  longer. 


112  DEVOTIONAL  SUBJECTS. 


PART  II.    THE  VIRGIN  AND  CHILD  ENTHRONED 

Lat.  Sancta  Dei  Genitrix.  Virgo  Deipara.  Ital.  La  Santissima 
Vergine,  Madre  di  Dio.  Fr.  La  Sainte  Vierge,  Mere  de  Dieu. 
Ger.  Die  Heilige  Mutter  Gottes. 

The  Virgin  in  her  maternal  character  opens  upon  us  so  wide 
a  field  of  illustration,  that  I  scarce  know  where  to  begin  or 
how  to  find  my  way  amid  the  crowd  of  associations  which 
press  upon  me.  A  mother  holding  her  child  in  her  arms  is  no 
very  complex  subject ;  but  like  a  very  simple  air  constructed 
on  a  few  expressive  notes,  which,  when  harmonized,  is  suscep- 
tible of  a  thousand  modulations,  and  variations,  and  accom- 
paniments, while  the  original  motif  never  loses  its  power  to 
speak  to  the  heart,  so  it  is  with  the  Madonna  and  Child 
—  a  subject  so  consecrated  by  its  antiquity,  so  hallowed  by  its 
profound  significance,  so  endeared  by  its  associations  with  the 
softest  and  deepest  of  our  human  sympathies,  that  the  mind 
has  never  wearied  of  its  repetition,  nor  the  eye  become  satiated 
with  its  beauty.  Those  who  refuse  to  give  it  the  honor  due 
to  a  religious  representation,  yet  regard  it  with  a  tender  half- 
unwilling  homage ;  and  when  the  glorified  type  of  what  is 
purest,  loftiest,  holiest  in  womanhood  stands  before  us,  arrayed 
in  all  the  majesty  and  beauty  that  accomplished  Art,  inspired 
by  faith  and  love,  could  lend  her,  and  bearing  her  divine  Son, 
rather  enthroned  than  sustained  on  her  maternal  bosom,  "  we 
look,  and  the  heart  is  in  heaven  !  "  and  it  is  difficult,  very  diffi- 
cult, to  refrain  from  an  Ova  pro  Nobis.  But  before  we  attempt 
to  classify  these  lovely  and  popular  effigies,  in  all  their  infinite 
variety,  from  the  enthroned  grandeur  of  the  Queen  of  Heaven, 
the  Sancta  Dei  Genitrix,  down  to  the  peasant  mother  swad- 
dling or  suckling  her  infant,  or  to  interpret  the  innumerable 
shades  of  significance  conveyed  by  the  attendant  accessories,  we 
must  endeavor  to  trace  the  representation  itself  to  its  origin. 

This  is  difficult.  There  exists  no  proof,  I  believe,  that  the 
effigies  of  the  Virgin  with  the  infant  Christ  in  her  arms,  which 
existed  before  the  end  of  the  fifth  century,  were  placed  before 
Christian  worshippers  as  objects  of  veneration.  They  appear 
to  have  been  merely  groups  representing  a  particular  incident 


THE    VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED  113 

of  the  New  Testament,  namely,  the  adoration  of  the  Magi ;  for 
I  rind  no  other  in  which  the  mother  is  seated  with  the  infant 
Christ,1  and  this  is  an  historical  subject  of  which  we  shall 
have  to  speak  hereafter.  From  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
century,  that  is,  from  the  time  of  Constantine  and  the  con- 
demnation of  Arius,  the  popular  reverence  for  the  Virgin,  the 
Mother  of  Christ,  had  been  gaining  ground ;  and  at  the  same 
time  the  introduction  of  images  and  pictures  into  the  places  of 
worship  and  into  the  houses  of  Christians,  as  ornaments  on 
glass  vessels  and  even  embroidered  on  garments  and  curtains, 
became  more  and  more  diffused.  (Vide  INeander's  Church 
History.) 

The  earliest  effigies  of  the  Virgin  and  Child  may  be  traced 
to  Alexandria  and  to  Egyptian  influences ;  and  it  is  as  easily 
conceivable  that  the  time-consecrated  Egyptian  myth  of  Isis 
and  Horus  may  have  suggested  the  original  type,  the  outward 
form  and  the  arrangement  of  the  maternal  group,  as  that  the 
classical  Greek  types  of  the  Orpheus  and  Apollo  should  have 
furnished  the  early  symbols  of  the  Redeemer  as  the  Good 
Shepherd,  —  a  fact  which  does  not  rest  upon  supposition,  but 
of  which  the  proofs  remain  to  us  in  the  antique  Christian 
sculptures  and  the  paintings  in  the  catacombs. 

The  most  ancient  Greek  figures  of  the  Virgin  and  Child  have 
perished ;  but,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  there  is  no  evidence  that 
these  effigies  were  recognized  by  the  Church  as  sacred  before 
the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century.  It  was  the  Nestorian 
schism  which  first  gave  to  the  group  of  the  Mother  bearing 
her  divine  Son  that  religious  importance  and  significance  which 
it  has  ever  since  retained  in  Catholic  countries. 

The  divinity  of  Christ  and  his  miraculous  conception,  once 
established  as  articles  of  belief,  naturally  imparted  to  Mary, 
his  mother,  a  dignity  beyond  that  of  other  mothers:  her  Son 
was  God;  therefore  the  title  of  Motiikr  of  God  was  as- 
signed to  her.  When  or  by  whom  first  brought  into  use  does 
not  appear ;  but  about  the  year  40G  it  became  a  popular 
designation. 

1  [There  is  a  single  exception  to  tills  rule,  if  we  accept  the  judgment  of  De 
Iio-si,  who  dates  almost  as  early  as  the  apostolic  af;e  the  painting  in  the  ceme- 
tery of  St.  Priscilla  representing  the  Virgin  and  Child  with  Isaiah.  See  Roma 
8otUrraneat  by  Northcote  and  lirownlow  ;  also  Peratc,  Archceologie  L'hre- 
titnne.] 


114 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


Nestorius,  patriarch  of  Constantinople  in  428,  had  begun  by 
persecuting  the  Arians ;  but  while  he  insisted  that  in  Jesus 
were  combined  two  persons  and  two  natures,  he  insisted  that 
the  Virgin  Mary  was  the  mother  of  Christ  considered  as  man, 
but  not  the  mother  of  Christ  considered  as  God;  and  that, 
consequently,  all  those  who  gave  her  the  title  of  Del  Genitrir, 
Deipara,1  were  in  error.  There  were  many  who  adopted 
these  opinions,  but  by  a  large  portion  of  the  Church  they  were 
repudiated  with   horror,  as  utterly  subverting   the   doctrine   of 


Virgo  Deipara   (painting  in  Catacombs) 

the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation.  Cyril  of  Alexandria  opposed 
Nestorius  and  his  followers,  and  defended  with  zealous  enthu- 
siasm the  claims  of  the  Virgin  to  all  the  reverence  and  worship 
due  to  her ;  for,  as  he  argued,  the  two  natures  being  one  and 
indivisible  from  the  moment  of  the  miraculous  conception,  it 
followed  that  Mary  did  indeed  bring  forth  God,  —  was,  in 
fact,  the  Mother  of  God ;  and  all  who  took  away  from  her 
this  dignity  and  title  were  in  error,  and  to  be  condemned  as 
heretics. 

I  hope  I  shall  not  be  considered  irreverent  in  thus  plainly 
and  simply  stating  the  grounds  of  this  celebrated  schism,  with 
reference  to  its  influence  on  Art,  —  an  influence  incalculable, 
not  only  at  the  time,  but  ever  since  that  time  ;  of  which  the 
manifold  results,  traced  from  century  to  century  down  to  the 
present  hour,  would  remain  quite  unintelligible,  unless  we 
clearly  understood  the  origin  and  the  issue  of  the  contro- 
versy. 


1  The  inscription  on  the  Greek  and   Byzantine  pictures  is  usually  MHP  OY 

(MjJTrjp  Ocou). 


THE    VIRGIN"   AND   CHILD    ENTHRONED  115 

Cyril,  who  was  as  enthusiastic  and  indomitable  as  ]S~estorius, 
and  had  the  advantage  of  taking  the  positive  against  the  nega- 
tive side  of  the  question,  anathematized  the  doctrines  of  his 
opponent,  in  a  synod  held  at  Alexandria  in  480,  to  which 
Pope  Celestine  II.  gave  the  sanction  of  his  authority.  The 
Emperor  Theodosius  II.  then  called  a  general  council  at  Ephe- 
sus  in  431,  before  which  Nestorius  refused  to  appear,  and  was 
deposed  from  his  dignity  of  patriarch  by  the  suffrages  of  two 
hundred  bishops.  But  this  did  not  put  an  end  to  the  contro- 
versy ;  the  streets  of  Ephesus  were  disturbed  by  the  brawls, 
and  the  pavement  of  the  cathedral  was  literally  stained  with 
the  blood  of  the  contending  parties. 

Theodosius  arrested  both  the  patriarchs,  but  after  the  lapse 
of  only  a  few  days  Cyril  triumphed  over  his  adversary  :  with 
him  triumphed  the  cause  of  the  Virgin.  Nestorius  was  de- 
posed and  exiled ;  his  writings  condemned  to  the  flames ;  but 
still  the  opinions  he  had  advocated  were  adopted  by  numbers, 
who  were  regarded  as  heretics  by  those  who  called  themselves 
"  the  Catholic  Church." 

The  long  continuance  of  this  controversy,  the  obstinacy  of 
the  Nestorians,  the  passionate  zeal  of  those  who  held  the  op- 
posite doctrines,  and  their  ultimate  triumph  when  the  Western 
Churches  of  Rome  and  Carthage  declared  in  their  favor,  all 
tendted  to  multiply  and  disseminate  far  and  wide  throughout 
Christendom  those  images  of  the  Virgin  which  exhibited  her  as 
Mother  of  the  Godhead.  At  length  the  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties, headed  by  Pope  Gregory  the  Great,  stamped  them  as  or- 
thodox, and  as  the  cross  had  been  the  primeval  symbol  which 
distinguished  the  Christian  from  the  Pagan,  so  the  image 
of  the  Virgin  Mother  with  her  Child  now  became  the  symbol 
which  distinguished  the  Catholic  Christian  from  the  Nestorian 
Dissenter. 

Thus  it  appears  that  if  the  first  religious  representations  of 
the  Virgin  and  Child  were  not  a  consequence  of  the  Nestorian 
schism,  yet  the  consecration  of  such  effigies  as  the  visible  form 
of  a  theological  dogma  to  the  purposes  of  worship  and  ecclesi- 
astical decoration  must  date  from  the  Council  of  Ephesus  in 
481;  and  their  popularity  and  general  diffusion  throughout 
the  Western  Churches,  from  the  pontificate  of  Gregory  in  the 
beginning  of  the  seventh  century. 

In  the  most  ancient  of  these  effigies  which  remain,  we  have 


116  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

clearly  only  a  symbol ;  a  half  figure,  veiled,  with  hands  out- 
spread, and  the  half  figure  of  a  child  placed  against  her  bosom, 
without  any  sentiment,  without  even  the  action  of  sustaining 
him.  Such  was  the  formal  but  quite  intelligible  sign ;  but  it 
soon  became  more,  it  became  a  representation.  As  it  was  in 
the  East  that  the  cause  of  the  Virgin  first  triumphed,  we 
might  naturally  expect  to  find  the  earliest  examples  in  the  old 
Greek  churches ;  but  these  must  have  perished  in  the  furious 
onslaught  made  by  the  Iconoclasts  on  all  the  sacred  images. 
The  controversy  between  the  image-worshippers  and  the  image- 
breakers,  which  distracted  the  East  for  more  than  a  century 
(that  is,  from  726  to  840)  did  not,  however,  extend  to  the 
West  of  Europe.  We  find  the  primeval  Byzantine  type,  or  at 
least  the  exact  reproduction  of  it,  in  the  most  ancient  Western 
Churches,  and  preserved  to  us  in  the  mosaics  of  Rome,  Ra- 
venna, and  Capua.  These  remains  are  nearly  all  of  the  same 
date,  much  later  than  the  single  figures  of  Christ  as  Redeemer, 
and  belonging  unfortunately  to  a  lower  period  and  style  of 
Art.  The  true  significance  of  the  representation  is  not,  how- 
ever, left  doubtful ;  for  all  the  earliest  traditions  and  inscrip- 
tions are  in  this  agreed,  that  such  effigies  were  intended  as  a 
confession  of  faith  ;  an  acknowledgment  of  the  dignity  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  as  the  "  Sancta  Dei  Genitrix  ;  "  as  a  visible 
refutation  of  "  the  infamous,  iniquitous,  and  sacrilegious  doc- 
trines of  Nestorius  the  Heresiarch."  1 

As  these  ancient  mosaic  figures  of  the  Virgin,  enthroned 
with  her  infant  Son,  were  the  precursors  and  models  of  all 
that  was  afterwards  conceived  and  executed  in  Art,  we  must 
examine  them  in  detail  before  proceeding  farther. 

The  mosaic  of  the  cathedral  of  Capua  represents  in  the 
highest  place  the  half  figure  of  Christ  in  the  act  of  benedic- 
tion. In  one  of  the  spandrils,  to  the  right,  is  the  prophet 
Isaiah,  bearing  a  scroll,  on  which  is  inscribed,  "  Ecce  Dominus 
in  fortitudine  veniet,  et  brachium  ejus  dominabitur," —  "  The 
Lord  God  will  come  with  strong  hand,  and  his  arm  shall  rule 
for  him  "  (Is.  xl.  10).  On  the  left  stands  Jeremiah,  also 
with  a  scroll,  and  the  words,  "Fortissime,  magne,  et  potens, 
Dominus  exercituum  nomen  tibi,"  —  "  The  great,  the  mighty 

1  "Monstrarulo  quod  ipsa  Dei  para  esseta,  contra  impiam  Nestorii  haeresim 
qtiam  talem  esse  iste  nefandus  Hoeresiarcha  negabat."  Vide  Ciampini,  and 
Munter's  Sinnbikler. 


THE   VIRGIN  AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED  117 

God,  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name"  (Jer.  xxxii.  18).  In  the 
centre  of  the  vault  beneath,  the  Virgin  is  seated  on  a  rich 
throne,  a  footstool  under  her  feet ;  she  wears  a  crown  over  her 
veil.  Christ,  seated  on  her  knee,  and  clothed,  holds  a  cross 
in  his  left  hand ;  the  right  is  raised  in  benediction.  On  one 
side  of  the  throne  stands  St.  Peter  and  St.  Stephen  ;  on  the 
other,  St.  Paul  and  St.  Agatha,  to  whom  the  church  is  dedi- 
cated. The  Greek  monogram  of  the  Virgin  is  inscribed  below 
the  throne. 

The  next  in  date  which  remains  visible  is  the  group  in  the 
apsis  of  S.  Maria  della  Navicella,  Rome,  executed  about  820, 
in  the  time  of  Paschal  I.,  a  pontiff  who  was  very  remarkable 
for  the  zeal  with  which  he  rebuilt  and  adorned  the  then  half- 
ruined  churches  of  Rome.  The  Virgin,  of  colossal  size,  is 
seated  on  a  throne ;  her  robe  and  veil  are  blue  ;  the  infant 
Christ,  in  a  gold-colored  vest,  is  seated  in  her  lap,  and  raises 
his  hand  to  bless  the  worshippers.  On  each  side  of  the  Vir- 
gin is  a  group  of  adoring  angels  ;  at  her  feet  kneels  the  diminu- 
tive figure  of  Pope  Paschal. 

In  the  Santa  Maria  Nuova,1  the  Virgin  is  seated  on  a  throne, 
wearing  a  rich  crown,  as  queen  of  heaven.  The  infant  Christ 
stands  upon  her  knee  ;  she  has  one  hand  on  her  bosom  and 
sustains  him  with  the  other. 

On  the  facade  of  the  portico  of  the  S.  Maria-in-Trastevere  at 
Rome,  the  Virgin  is  enthroned,  and  crowned,  and  giving  her 
breast  to  the  child.  This  mosaic  is  of  later  date  than  that  in 
the  apsis,  but  is  one  of  the  oldest  examples  of  a  representation 
which  was  evidently  directed  against  the  heretical  doubts  of 
the  Nestorians  :  "  How,"  said  they,  pleading  before  the  Coun- 
cil of  Ephesus,  "  can  we  call  him  God  who  is  only  two  or  three 
months  old  ;  or  suppose  the  Logos  to  have  been  suckled  and 
to  increase  in  wisdom  ?  "  the  Virgin  in  the  act  of  suckling  her 
Child  is  a  motif  often  since  repeated  when  the  original  signifi- 
cance was  forgotten. 

In  the  chapel  of  San  Zeno,  Rome,  the  Virgin  is  enthroned ; 
the  Child  is  seated  on  her  knee.  He  holds  a  scroll,  on  which 
are  the  words  "  Ego  sum  lux  mundi,"  "  I  am  the  light  of  the 
world  ;  "  the  right  hand  is  raised  in  benediction.  Above  is 
the  monogram  M-P  0Y,  Mahia  Matkk  Dei. 

In  the  mosaics,  from  the  eighth  to  the  eleventh  century,  we 

1  Called,  also,  Santa  Fraucesca,  Koine. 


118  DEVOTIONAL    SUBJECTS 

find  Art  at  a  very  low  ebb.  The  background  is  flat  gold,  not 
a  blue  heaven  with  its  golden  stars,  as  in  the  early  mosaics  of 
the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries.  The  figures  are  ill-proportioned  ; 
the  faces  consist  of  lines  without  any  attempt  at  form  or  ex- 
pression. The  draperies,  however,  have  a  certain  amplitude ; 
"  and  the  character  of  a  few  accessories,  for  example,  the 
crown  on  the  Virgin's  head,  instead  of  the  invariable  Byzantine 
veil,  betrays,"  says  Kugler,  "  a  northern  and  probably  a  Frank- 
ish  influence."  The  attendant  saints,  generally  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul,  stand  stiff  and  upright  on  each  side. 

But  with  all  their  faults,  these  grand,  formal,  significant 
groups  —  or  rather  not  groups,  for  there  was  as  yet  no  attempt 
either  at  grouping  or  variety  of  action,  for  that  would  have 
been  considered  irreverent  —  but  these  rows  of  figures,  were 
the  models  of  the  early  Italian  painters  and  mosaic-workers  in 
their  large  architectural  mosaics  and  altar-pieces  set  up  in  the 
churches  during  the  revival  of  Art,  from  the  period  of  Cima- 
bue  and  Andrea  Tafi  down  to  the  latter  half  of  the  thirteenth 
century  ;  all  partook  of  this  lifeless,  motionless  character,  and 
were  at  the  same  time  touched  with  the  same  solemn  religious 
feeling.  And  long  afterwards,  when  the  arrangement  became 
less  formal  and  conventional,  their  influence  may  still  be  traced 
in  those  noble  enthroned  Madonnas,  which  represent  the  Vir- 
gin as  queen  of  heaven  and  of  angels,  either  alone,  or  with 
attendant  saints  and  martyrs,  and  venerable  confessors  waiting 
round  her  state. 

The  general  disposition  of  the  two  figures  varies  but  little 
in  the  earliest  examples  which  exist  for  us  in  painting,  and 
which  are,  in  fact,  very  much  alike.  The  Madonna  seated  on 
a  throne,  wearing  a  red  tunic  and  a  blue  mantle,  part  of  which 
is  drawn  as  a  veil  over  her  head,  holds  the  infant  Christ, 
clothed  in  a  red  or  blue  tunic.  She  looks  straight  out  of  the 
picture  with  her  head  a  little  declined  to  one  side.  Christ  has 
the  right  hand  raised  in  benediction,  and  the  other  extended. 
Such  were  the  simple,  majestic,  and  decorous  effigies,  the  legiti- 
mate successors  of  the  old  architectural  mosaics,  and  usually 
placed  over  the  high  altar  of  a  church  or  chapel.  The  earliest 
examples  which  have  been  preserved  are  for  that  reason  cele- 
brated in  the  history  of  Art. 

The  first  is  the  enthroned  Virgin  of  Guido  da  Siena 
[church  of  S.  Domenico,  Siena],  who   preceded   Cimabue  by 


THE    VIRGIN    AND    CHILD    ENTHRONED 


119 


twenty  or  thirty  years. 
In  this  picture  the  By- 
zantine conception  and 
style  of  execution  are 
adhered  to,  yet  with 
a  softened  sentiment, 
a  touch  of  more  natu- 
ral, lifelike  feeling,  par- 
ticularly in  the  head 
of  the  Child.  The 
expression  in  the  face 
of  the  Virgin  struck 
me  as  very  gentle  and 
attractive  ;  but  it  has 
been,  I  am  afraid, 
retouched,  so  that  we 
cannot  be  quite  sure 
that  we  have  the  ori- 
ginal features. «  For- 
tunately Guido  has 
placed  a  date  on  his 
work,      mccxxi.,     and 

also  inscribed  on  it  a  distich  which  shows  that  he  felt,  with 
some  consciousness  and  self-complacency,  his  superiority  to  his 
Byzantine  models  :  — 

Me  Guido  de  Senis  diebus  depinxit  amcenis, 
Quem  Christus  lenis  nullis  velit  angere  pcenis.1 

Next,  we  may  refer  to  the  two  colossal  Madonnas  by  Cima- 
bue  preserved  at  Florence.  The  first,  which  was  painted  for 
the  Vallombrosian  monks  of  the  S.  Trinita,  is  now  in  the  gal- 
lery of  the  Academy.  It  has  all  the  stiffness  and  coldness  of 
the  Byzantine  manner.  There  are  three  adoring  angels  on  each 
side,  disposed  one  above  another,  and  four  prophets  are  placed 
below  in  separate  niches,  half  figures,  holding  in  their  hands 
their  prophetic  scrolls,  as  in  the  old  mosaic  at  Capua,  already 
described.  The  second  is  preserved  in  the  Ruecellai  chapel, 
in  the  S.   Maria  Novella,  in  its  original  place.      In  spite  of  its 

1  The  meaning,  for  it  is  not  easy  to  translate  literally,  is,  "  Me  hath  painted, 
in  pleasant  days,  Guido  of  Siena,  Upon  whose  soul  may  Christ  deign  to  have 
mercy  !  " 


Madonna  and  Child  (Guido  da  Siena) 


120 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


colossal  size,  and  formal  attitude,  and  severe  style,  the  face  of 
this  Madonna  is  very  striking,  and  has  been  well  described  as 
"  sweet  and  unearthly,  reminding  you  of  a  sibyl."  The  infant 
Christ  is  also  very  fine.  There  are  three  angels  on  each  side, 
who  seem  to  sustain  the  carved  chair  or  throne  on  which  the 
Madonna  is  seated  ;  and  the  prophets,  instead  of  being  below, 

are  painted  in  small  cir- 
cular medallions  down 
each  side  of  the  frame. 
The  throne  and  the 
background  are  covered 
with  gold.  Vasari  gives 
a  very  graphic  and  an- 
imated account  of  the 
estimation  in  which 
this  picture  was  held 
when  first  executed. 
Its  colossal  dimensions, 
though  familiar   in   the 


great 


mosaics,       were 


Madonna  and  Child  (Cimabue) 


hitherto  unknown  in 
painting ;  and  not  less 
astonishing  appeared  the 
deviation,  though  slight, 
from  ugliness  and  life- 
lessness  into  grace  and 
nature.  "  And  thus," 
he  says,  "  it  happened 
that  this  work  was  an  object  of  so  much  admiration  to  the 
people  of  that  day,  they  having  then  never  seen  anything  bet- 
ter, that  it  was  carried  in  solemn  procession,  with  the  sound 
of  trumpets  and  other  festal  demonstrations,  from  the  house  of 
Cimabue  to  the  church,  he  himself  being  highly  rewarded  and 
honored  for  it.  It  is  further  reported,  and  may  be  read  in  cer- 
tain records  of  old  painters,  that,  whilst  Cimabue  was  painting 
this  picture,  in  a  garden  near  the  gate  of  San  Pietro,  King 
Charles  the  Elder,  of  Anjou,  passed  through  Florence,  and  the 
authorities  of  the  city,  among  other  marks  of  respect,  conducted 
him  to  see  the  picture  of  Cimabue.  When  this  work  was  thus 
shown  to  the  king,  it  had  not  before  been  seen  by  any  one ; 
wherefore  all  the   men    and  women  of  Florence  hastened  in 


:e  virgin  and  child  enthroned 


121 


crowds  to  admire  it,  making  all  possible  demonstrations  of 
delight.  The  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood,  rejoicing  in  this 
occurrence,  ever  afterwards  called  that  place  '  Borgo  Allegri ; ' 
and  this  name  it  has  ever  since  retained,  although  in  process  of 
time  it  became  inclosed  within  the  walls  of  the  city." 


In  the  strictly  devotional  representation  of  the  Virgin 
and  Child,  she  is  invariably  seated,  till  the  end  of  the  thir- 
teenth century  ;  and  for  the  next  hundred  years  the  inno- 
vation of  a  standing 
figure  was  confined  to 
sculpture.  An  early 
example  is  the  beauti- 
ful statue  by  Niccolo 
Pisano,  in  the  Capella 
della  Spina  at  Pisa ; 
and  others  will  be 
found  in  Cicognara's 
work  (Storia  della 
Scultura  Moderna). 
The  Gothic  cathedrals 
of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury also  exhibit  some 
most  graceful  exam- 
ples of  the  Madonna 
in  sculpture,  standing 
on  a  pedestal,  crowned 
or  veiled,  sustaining 
on  her  left  arm  the 
divine  Child,  while  in 
her  right  she  holds  a 
sceptre  or  perhaps  a 
flower.  Such  crowned 
or  sceptred  effigies  of 
the  Virgin  were  placed 
on  the  central  pillar 
which  usually  divided 
the    great    door    of    a 

church  into  two  equal  parts  ;  in  reference  to  the  text,  "  I  am 
the  DOOB  :  by  me  if  any  man  enter  in,  he  shall  be  saved." 
In  Iloman  Catholic  countries  we  find  such  elfigies  set  up  at 


Madonna  di  San  Brizio  (Orvieto) 


122 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


the  corners  of  streets,  over  the  doors  of  houses,  and  the  gates 
of  gardens,  sometimes  rude  and  coarse,  sometimes  exceedingly 
graceful,  according  to  the  period  of  art  and  skill  of  the  local 
artist.  Here  the  Virgin  appears  in  her  character  of  Protec- 
tress —  our  Lady  of  Grace,  or  our  Lady  of  Succor. 


In  pictures,  we  rarely  find  the  Virgin  standing  before  the 

end  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury. An  almost  singu- 
lar example  is  to  be  found 
in  an  old  Greek  Madonna, 
venerated  as  miraculous, 
in  the  cathedral  of  Orvi- 
eto,  under  the  title  of  "  La 
Madonna  di  San  Brizio," 
and  to  which  is  attributed 
a  fabulous  antiquity.  I 
may  be  mistaken,  but  my 
impression  on  seeing  it 
was  that  it  could  not  be 
older  than  the  end  of  the 
thirteenth  century.  The 
crowns  worn  by  the  Virgin 
and  Christ  are  even  more 
modern,  and  out  of  char- 
acter with  the  rest  of  the 
painting,  of  which  I  give 
a  sketch.  In  Italy  the 
pupils  of  Giotto  first  be- 
gan to  represent  the  Vir- 
gin standing  on  a  raised 
dais.  There  is  an  ex- 
ample by  Puccio  Capanna,  engraved  in  D'Agincourt's  work  (PI. 
117)  ;  but  such  figures  are  very  uncommon.  In  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries  they  occur  more  frequently  in  the  north- 
ern than  in  the  Italian  schools.  This  little  sketch,  after  Martin 
Schoen,  is  an  example. 

In  the  simple  enthroned  Madonna,  variations  of  attitude  and 
sentiment  were  introduced.  The  Virgin,  instead  of  support- 
ing her  Son  with  both  hands,  embraces  him  with  one  hand, 
and  with  the  other  points  to  him  ;  or  raises  her  right  hand  to 


Madonna  and  Child.  (Martin  Schoen) 


THE    VIRGIN   AND   CHILD    ENTHRONED 


123 


Madonna  and  Child  (attributed  to  Van  Eyck) 

bless  the  worshipper.  Then  the  Child  caresses  his  mother  — 
a  charming  and  natural  idea,  but  a  deviation  from  the  solem- 
nity of  the  purely  religious  significance  ;  better  imagined,  how- 
ever, to  convey  the  relation  between  the  mother  and  child, 
than  the  Virgin  suckling  her  infant,  to  which  I  have  already 
alluded  in  its  early  religious,  or  rather  controversial,  meaning. 
It  is  not  often  that  the  enthroned  Virgin  is  thus  occupied. 
Mr.  Rogers  had  in  his  collection  an  exquisite  example,  where 
the  Virgin,  seated  in  state  on  a  magnificent  throne  under  a 
Gothic  canopy  and  crowned  as  queen  of  heaven,  offers  her 
breast  to  the  divine  Infant.  This  sketch,  from  a  beautiful  lit- 
tle  "  Virgin  "   in   the  Vienna  Gallery,  attributed  to  the  same 


124 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


master,  John  van  Eyck,1  exhibits  the  same  action.  The  Virgin 
is  here  standing,  as  if  she  had  just  risen  from  her  throne, 
under  a  Gothic  canopy,  on  which  is  sculptured  the  Fall ;  Adam 
on  one  side,  and  Eve  on  the  other. 

Then  the  Mother  adores  her  child.  This  is  properly  the 
Madre  Pia,  afterwards  so  beautifully  varied.  He  lies  ex- 
tended on  her  knee,  and 
she  looks  down  upon  him 
with  hands  folded  in 
prayer  ;  or  she  places  her 
hand  under  his  foot,  an 
attitude  which  originally 
implied  her  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  sovereignty 
and  superiority,  but  was 
continued  as  a  natural 
motif  when  the  figura- 
tive and  religious  meaning 
was  no  longer  considered. 
Sometimes  the  Child  looks 
up  in  his  mother's  face, 
with  his  finger  on  his  lip, 
expressing  the  Verbum 
sum,  "I  am  the  Word." 
Sometimes  the  Child, 
bending  forwards  from  his 
mother's  knee,  looks  down 
benignly  on  the  worship- 
pers who  are  supposed  to 
be  kneeling  at  the  foot  of 
the  altar.  Sometimes,  but 
very  rarely,  he  sleeps ; 
never  in  the  earliest  ex- 
amples ;  for  to  exhibit  the 
young  Redeemer  asleep,  where  he  is  an  object  of  worship,  was 
then  a  species  of  solecism. 

When  the  enthroned  Virgin  is  represented  holding  a  book,  or 
reading,  while  the  infant  Christ,  perhaps,  lays  his  hand  upon 
it,  —  a  variation  in  the  first  simple  treatment  not  earlier  than 

1  [Attributed  to  Van  Eyck  in  Fdrster's  Denkmnle  der  Deutschen  Kunst,  bul 
not  found  under  Van  Eyck' 8  name  in  the  Belvedere  catalogue  of  1892.] 


Madonna  and  Child  (Bellini) 


THE   VIRGIN    AND    CHILD    ENTHRONED 


125 


the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  very  significant,  —  she 
is  then  the  Virgo  Sapientissima,  the  most  Wise  Virgin;  or 
the  Mother  of  Wisdom,  Mater  Sapientice ;  and  the  hook  she 
holds  is  the  Book  of  Wisdom.1  This  is  the  proper  interpreta- 
tion where   the  Virgin 

is  seated  on  her  throne.  ,•«"». 

In  a  most  beautiful  pic- 
ture by  Granacci  (Ber- 
lin Gallery)  she  is  thus 
enthroned  and  reading 
intently ;  while  John 
the  Baptist  and  St.  Mi- 
chael stand  on  each 
side. 

With  regard  to  cos- 
tume, the  colors  in 
which  the  enthroned 
Virgin-mother  was  ar- 
rayed scarcely  ever  va- 
ried from  the  established 
rule  :  her  tunic  was  to 
be  red,  her  mantle  blue  ; 
red,  the  color  of  love 
and  religious  aspiration ; 
blue,  the  color  of  con- 
stancy and  heavenly 
purity.  In  the  pictures 
of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  and  down  to  the 
early  part  of  the  fifteenth,  these  colors  are  of  a  soft  and  delicate 
tint  —  rose  and  pale  azure;  but  afterwards,  when  powerful 
effects  of  color  became  a  study,  we  have  the  intense  crimson, 
and  the  dark  blue  verging  on  purple.  Sometimes  the  blue 
mantle  is  brought  over  her  head,  sometimes  she  wears  a  white 
veil,  in  other  instances  the  queenly  crown.  Sometimes  (but 
very  rarely  when  she  is  throned  as  the  Regina  Coeli)  she  has 
no  covering  or  ornament  on  her  head  ;  and  her  fair  hair,  parted 
on  her  brow,  flows  down  on  either  side  in  long  luxuriant 
tresses. 

1  L'Abbe*  Crosnier,   Tconographie  Chretienne;   but  the  book  as  an  attribute 
had  another  meaning,  for  which  see  the  Introduction. 


Mater  Sapiential 


126  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

In  the  Venetian  and  German  pictures  she  is  often  most 
gorgeously  arrayed ;  her  crown  studded  with  jewels,  her  robe 
covered  with  embroidery,  or  broidered  with  gold  and  pearls. 
The  ornamental  parts  of  her  dress  and  throne  were  sometimes, 
to  increase  the  magnificence  of  the  effect,  raised  in  relief  and 
gilt.  To  the  early  German  painters  we  might  too  often  apply 
the  sarcasm  of  Apelles,  who  said  of  his  rival,  that,  "  not  being 
able  to  make  Venus  beautiful,  he  had  made  her/?  we  ;  "  but  some 
of  the  Venetian  Madonnas  are  lovely  as  well  as  splendid.  Gold 
was  often  used,  and  in  great  profusion,  in  some  of  the  Lombard 
pictures  even  of  a  late  date  ;  for  instance,  by  Carlo  Crivelli  :  be- 
fore the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  this  was  considered 
barbaric.  The  best  Italian  painters  give  the  Virgin  ample, 
well-disposed  drapery,  but  dispensed  with  ornament.  The  star 
embroidered  on  her  shoulder,  so  often  retained  when  all  other 
ornament  was  banished,  expresses  her  title  "  Stella  Maris."  I 
have  seen  some  old  pictures  in  which  she  wears  a  ring  on  the 
third  finger.  This  expresses  her  dignity  as  the  Sposa  as  well 
as  the  Mother. 

With  regard  to  the  divine  Infant,  he  is,  in  the  early  pic- 
tures, invariably  draped,  and  it  is  not  till  the  beginning  of  the 
fifteenth  century  that  we  find  him  first  partially  and  then 
wholly  undraped.  In  the  old  representations  he  wears  a  long 
tunic  with  full  sleeves,  fastened  with  a  girdle.  It  is  some- 
times of  gold  stuff  embroidered,  sometimes  white,  crimson,  or 
blue.  This  almost  regal  robe  was  afterwards  exchanged  for  a 
little  semi-transparent  shirt  without  sleeves.  In  pictures  of 
the  throned  Madonna  painted  expressly  for  nunneries,  the 
Child  is,  I  believe,  always  clothed,  or  the  Mother  partly  en- 
folds him  in  her  own  drapery.  In  the  Umbrian  pictures  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  the  Infant  often  wears  a  coral  necklace, 
then  and  now  worn  by  children  in  that  district  as  a  charm 
against  the  evil  eye.  In  the  Venetian  pictures  he  has  some- 
times a  coronal  of  pearls.  In  the  carved  and  painted  images 
set  up  in  churches  he  wears,  like  his  mother,  a  rich  crown 
over  a  curled  wig  and  is  hung  round  with  jewels ;  but  such  im- 
ages must  be  considered  as  out  of  the  pale  of  legitimate  Art. 

Of  the  various  objects  placed  in  the  hand  of  the  Child  as 
emblems  I  have  already  spoken,  and  of  their  sacred  signifi- 
cance as  such  —  the  globe,  the  book,  the  bird,  the  flower,  etc. 


THE    VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED  127 

In  the  works  of  the  ignorant  secular  artists  of  later  times, 
these  symbols  of  power,  or  divinity,  or  wisdom,  became  more 
playthings;  and  when  they  had  become  familiar,  and  required 
by  custom,  and  the  old  sacred  associations  utterly  forgotten, 
we  find  them  most  profanely  applied  and  misused.  To  give 
one  example :  the  bird  was  originally  placed  in  the  hand  of 
Christ  as  the  emblem  of  the  soul,  or  of  the  spiritual  as  op- 
posed to  the  earthly  nature  ;  in  a  picture  by  Baroccio,  he  holds 
it  up  before  a  cat,  to  be  frightened  and  tormented.  But  to 
proceed. 

The  throne  on  which  the  Virgin  is  seated  is,  in  very  early 
pictures,  merely  an  embroidered  cushion  on  a  sort  of  stool,  or 
a  carved  Gothic  chair,  such  as  we  see  in  the  thrones  and  stalls 
of  cathedrals.  It  is  afterwards  converted  into  a  rich  architec- 
tural throne,  most  elaborately  adorned,  according  to  the  taste 
and  skill  of  the, artist.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  early  Venetian 
pictures,  it  is  hung  with  garlands  of  fruits  and  flowers,  most 
fancifully  disposed.  Sometimes  the  arabesque  ornaments  are 
raised  in  relief  and  gilt.  Sometimes  the  throne  is  curiously 
painted  to  imitate  various  marbles,  and  adorned  with  medal- 
lions and  bas-reliefs  from  those  subjects  of  the  Old  Testament 
which  have  a  reference  to  the  character  of  the  Virgin  and  the 
mission  of  her  divine  Child ;  the  commonest  of  all  being  the 
Fall,  which  rendered  a  Redeemer  necessary.  Moses  striking 
the  rock  (the  waters  of  life),  the  elevation  of  the  brazen  ser- 
pent, the  gathering  of  the  manna,  or  Moses  holding  the  broken 
tablets  of  the  old  law  —  all  types  of  redemption  —  are  often 
thus  introduced  as  ornaments.  In  the  sixteenth  century, 
when  the  purely  religious  sentiment  had  declined,  and  a  classi- 
cal and  profane  taste  had  infected  every  department  of  art  and 
literature,  we  find  the  throne  of  the  Virgin  adorned  with 
classical  ornaments  and  bas-reliefs  from  the  antique  remains  ; 
as,  for  instance,  the  hunt  of  Theseus  and  Hippolyta.  We 
must  then  suppose  her  throned  on  the  ruins  of  paganism,  an 
idea  suggested  by  the  old  legends,  which  represent  the  temples 
and  statues  of  the  heathen  gods  as  falling  into  ruin  on  the 
approach  of  the  Virgin  and  her  Child  ;  and  a  more  picturesque 
application  of  this  idea  afterwards  became  common  in  other 
subjects.  In  [a composition  by]  Garofalo  the  throne  is  adorned 
with  sphinxes  —  a  Vantique.  Andrea  del  Sarto  has  placed 
harpies   at  the    corner  of   the    pedestal   of   the    throne   in   his 


128 


DEVOTIONAL    SUBJECTS 


famous  Madonna  di  San  Francesco  (Uffizi,  Florence),  —  a  gross 
fault  in  that  otherwise  grand  and  faultless  picture  ;  one  of  those 
desecrations  of  a  religious  theme  which  Andrea,  as  devoid  of 
religious  feeling  as   he  was  weak  and  dishonest,  was  in  the 

habit  of  committing. 

But  whatever  the  ma- 
terial or  style  of  the 
throne,  whether  simple 
or  gorgeous,  it  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  heavenly 
throne.  It  is  not  of  the 
earth,  nor  on  the  earth  ; 
and  at  first  it  was  alone 
and  unapproachable.  The 
Virgin-mother,  thus  seat- 
ed in  her  majesty,  apart 
from  all  human  beings, 
and  in  communion  only 
with  the  Infant  Godhead 
on  her  knee,  or  the  liv- 
ing worshippers  who 
come  to  lay  down  their 
cares  and  sorrows  at  the 
foot  of  her  throne  and 
breathe  a  devout  Salve 
Begina  !  is,  through  its 
very  simplicity  and  con- 
centrated interest,  a  sub- 
lime conception.  The 
effect  of  these  figures,  in 
their  divine  quietude  and 
loveliness,  can  never  be 
appreciated  when  hung 
in  a  gallery  or  room  with 
other  pictures,  for  admi- 
ration, or  criticism,  or 
comparison.  I  remem- 
ber well  suddenly  discov- 
ering such  a  Madonna,  in  a  retired  chapel  in  S.  Francesco  della 
Vigna  at  Venice  —  a  picture  I  had  never  heard  of,  by  a  painter 
then   quite   unknown   to   me,  Fra  Antonio  da  Negroponte,  a 


Madonna  of  the  Harpies  (Andrea  del  Sarto) 


THE    VIRGIN    AND   CHILD    ENTHRONED 


129 


Franciscan  friar  who  lived  in  the 
fifteenth  century.  The  calm  dig- 
nity of  the  attitude,  the  sweet- 
ness, the  adoring  love  in  the  face 
of  the  queenly  mother,  as  with 
folded  hands  she  looked  down  on 
the  divine  Infant  reclining  on  her 
knee,  so  struck  upon  my  heart  that 
I  remained  for  minutes  quite  mo- 
tionless. In  this  picture,  nothing 
can  exceed  the  gorgeous  splendor 
of  the  Virgin's  throne  and  apparel : 
she  wears  a  jewelled  crown  ;  the 
Child  a  coronal  of  pearls  ;  while 
the  background  is  composed  en- 
tirely of  the  mystical  roses  twined 
in  a  sort  of  treillage. 

I  remember,  too,  a  picture  by 
Carlo  Crivelli  [National  Gallery], 
in  which  the  Virgin  is  seated  on 
a  throne,  adorned,  in  the  artist's 
usual  style,  with  rich  festoons  of 
fruit  and  flowers.  She  is  most 
sumptuously  crowned  and  ap- 
parelled ;  and  the  beautiful  Child 
on  her  knee,  grasping  her  hand 
as  if  to  support  himself,  with  the 
most  naive  and  graceful  action 
bends  forward  and  looks  down  benignly  on  the  worshippers 
supposed  to  be  kneeling  below. 

When  human  personages  were  admitted  within  the  same 
compartment,  the  throne  was  generally  raised  by  several  steps, 
or  placed  on  a  lofty  pedestal,  and  till  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
century  it  was  always  in  the  centre  of  the  composition  fronting 
the  spectator.  It  was  a  Venetian  innovation  to  place  the 
throne  at  one  side  of  the  picture,  and  show  the  Virgin  in  profile, 
or  in  the  act  of  turning  round.  Tins  more  scenic  disposition 
became  afterwards,  in  the  passion  for  variety  and  effect,  too 
palpably  artificial,  and  at  length  forced  and  theatrical. 

The  Italians  distinguished  between  the  Minimum  in  Trono 
and  the  Madonna  In  Gloria,      When  human  beings,  however 


Enthroned  Madonna  (Carlo  Cri- 
velli) 


130  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

sainted  and  exalted,  were  admitted  within  the  margin  of  the 
picture,  the  divine  dignity  of  the  Virgin  as  Madre  di  Bio  was 
often  expressed  hy  elevating  her  wholly  above  the  earth,  and 
placing  her  "  in  regions  mild  of  calm  and  serene  air,"  with  the 
crescent  or  the  rainbow  under  her  feet.  This  is  styled  a  "  Ma- 
donna in  Gloria."  1  It  is,  in  fact,  a  return  to  the  antique 
conception  of  the  enthroned  Redeemer,  seated  on  a  rainbow, 
sustained  by  the  "  curled  clouds,"  and  encircled  by  a  glory  of 
cherubim.  The  aureole  of  light,  within  which  the  glorified 
Madonna  and  her  Child  when  in  a  standing  position  are  often 
placed,  is  of  an  oblong  form,  called  from  its  shape  the  man- 
dorla,  "  the  almond  ;  "  2  but  in  general  she  is  seated  above  in 
a  sort  of  ethereal  exaltation,  while  the  attendant  saints  stand 
on  the  earth  below.  This  beautiful  arrangement,  though  often 
very  sublimely  treated,  has  not  the  simple  austere  dignity  of 
the  throne  of  state  ;  and  when  the  Virgin  and  Child,  as  in  the 
works  of  the  late  Spanish  and  Flemish  painters,  are  formed 
out  of  earth's  most  coarse  and  commonplace  materials,  the 
aerial  throne  of  floating  fantastic  clouds  suggests  a  disagreeable 
discord,  a  fear  lest  the  occupants  of  heaven  should  fall  on  the 
heads  of  their  worshippers  below.  Not  so  the  Virgins  of  the 
old  Italians  ;  for  they  look  so  divinely  ethereal  that  they  seem 
uplifted  by  their  own  spirituality  :  not  even  the  air-borne 
clouds  are  needed  to  sustain  them.  They  have  no  touch  of 
earth  or  earth's  material  b.eyond  the  human  form ;  their 
proper  place  is  the  seventh  heaven ;  and  there  they  repose,  a 
presence  and  a  power  —  a  personification  of  infinite  mercy  sub- 
limated by  innocence  and  purity  ;  and  thence  they  look  down 
on  their  worshippers  and  attendants,  while  these  gaze  upwards 
"  with  looks  commercing  with  the  skies." 

And  now  of  these  angelic  and  sainted  accessories,  however 
placed,  we  must  speak  at  length  ;  for  much  of  the  sentiment 
and  majesty  of  the  Madonna  effigies  depend  on  the  proper  treat- 
ment of  the  attendant  figures,  and  on  the  meaning  they  con- 
vey to  the  observer. 

The  Virgin  is  entitled,  by  authority  of  the  Church,  queen  of 

1  [Modern  examples  of  the  Madonna  in  Gloria  are  bjr  Defregger,  Boden- 
hausen,  and  Bouguereau.] 

2  Or  the  "Vesica  Biseis,"  by  Lord  Lindsay  and  others. 


MADONNA    DI    KM. IGNO  (Raphael) 


THE   VIRGIN   AND   CHILD    ENTHRONED 


131 


angels,  of  prophets,  of  apostles,  of  martyrs,  of  virgins,  and  of 
confessors;  and  from  among  these  her  attendants  are  selected. 
Angels  were  first  admitted,  waiting  immediately  round  her 
chair  of  state.  A  signal  instance  is  the  group  of  the  enthroned 
Madonna,  attended  by  the  four  archangels,  as  we  find  it  in  the 
very  ancient  mosaic  in  Sant'  Apollinare  Nuovo,  at  Ravenna. 
As  the  helief  in  the  superior  power  and  sauctity  of  the  Blessed 


Enthroned  Madonna  with  Archangels  (Mosaic) 


Virgin  grew  and  spread,  the  angels  no  longer  attended  her  as 
princes  of  the  heavenly  host,  guardians,  or  councillors  ;  they 
1  >< -< ; 1 1 1 1 ■  - ,  in  the  early  pictures,  adoring  angels,  sustaining  her 
throne  on  each  side,  or  holding  up  the  embroidered  .curtain 
which  forms  the  background.  In  the  Madonna  by  Cimabue, 
which,  if  it  he   not  the  earliest  after  the  revival  of   Art,  was 


132  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

one  of  the  first  in  which  the  Byzantine  manner  was  softened  and 
Italianized,  we  have  six  grand,  solemn-looking  angels,  three  on 
each  side  of  the  throne,  arranged  perpendicularly  one  above 
another.  The  Virgin  herself  is  of  colossal  proportions,  far  ex- 
ceeding them  in  size,  and  looking  out  of  her  frame,  "  large  as  a 
goddess  of  the  antique  world."  In  the  other  Madonna  in 
the  gallery  of  the  Academy  we  have  the  same  arrangement 
of  the  angels.  Giotto  diversified  this  arrangement.  He  placed 
the  angels  kneeling  at  the  foot  of  the  throne,  making  music, 
and  waiting  on  their  divine  Mistress  as  her  celestial  choristers, 
—  a  service  the  more  fitting,  because  she  was  not  only  queen  of 
angels,  but  patroness  of  music  and  minstrelsy,  in  which  charac- 
ter she  has  St.  Cecilia  as  her  deputy  and  delegate.  This  accom- 
paniment of  the  choral  angels  was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the 
accessories,  and  continued  down  to  the  latest  times.  They  are 
most  particularly  lovely  in  the  pictures  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury. They  kneel  and  strike  their  golden  lutes,  or  stand  and 
sound  their  silver  clarions,  or  sit  like  beautiful  winged  children 
on  the  steps  of  the  throne,  and  pipe  and  sing  as  if  their  spirits 
were  overflowing  with  harmony  as  well  as  love  and  adoration.1 
In  a  curious  picture  of  the  enthroned  Madonna  and  Child,  by 
Gentile  Fabriano  (Berlin  Gallery),  a  tree  rises  on  each  side  of 
the  throne,  on  which  little  red  seraphim  are  perched  like  birds, 
singing  and  playing  on  musical  instruments.  In  later  times 
they  play  and  sing  for  the  solace  of  the  divine  Infant,  not 
merely  adoring,  but  ministering  :  but  these  angels  ministrant 
belong  to  another  class  of  pictures.  Adoration,  not  service, 
was  required  by  the  divine  Child  and  his  Mother,  when  they 
were  represented  simply  in  their  divine  character  and  placed 
far  beyond  earthly  wants  and  earthly  associations. 

There  are  examples  where  the  angels  in  attendance  bear, 
not  harps  or  lutes,  but  the  attributes  of  the  Cardinal  Virtues, 
as  in  an  altar-piece  by  Taddeo  Gaddi  (Rinuccini  chapel,  Santa 
Croce),  at  Florence. 

[An  interesting  picture  of  the  Enthroned  Madonna,  by  Miss 
Mary  L.  Macomber  (1893),  shows  two  angels  kneeling  beside 
the  throne,  as  symbols  of  the  Passion  and  Sorrow  of  Christ. 
The  picture  is  characterized  by  remarkable   spirituality  of  con- 

1  [A  beautiful  example  is  the  picture  in  the  National  Gallery  called  the  "Glo- 
rification of  the  Virgin,"  once  attributed  to  Lo  Spagna,  but  assigned  by  Crowe 
»nd  Cavaleaselle  and  by  Signor  Frizzoni  to  Bertucci  of  Faenza.J 


THE   VIRGIN    AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED  133 

ception  and  delicacy  in  treatment.  The  Mother  clasps  her 
Bahe  tenderly  to  her  as  if  to  shield  him  from  the  suffering 
which  the  two  angels  represent.] 

The  patriarchs,  prophets,  and  sibyls,  all  the  personages,  in 
fact,  who  lived  under  the  Old  Law,  when  forming,  in  a  picture 
or  altar-piece,  part  of  the  cortege  of  the  throned  Virgin,  as 
types,  or  prophets,  or  harbingers  of  the  Incarnation,  are  on  the 
outside  of  that  sacred  compartment  wherein  she  is  seated  with 
her  Child.  This  was  the  case  with  all  the  human  personages 
down  to  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century  ;  and  after  that 
time  I  find  the  characters  of  the  Old  Testament  still  excluded 
from  the  groups  immediately  round  her  throne.  Their  place 
was  elsewhere  allotted,  at  a  more  respectful  distance.  The  only 
exceptions  I  can  remember  are  King  David  and  the  patriarch 
Job ;  and  these  only  in  late  pictures,  where  David  does  not 
appear  as  prophet,  but  as  the  ancestor  of  the  Redeemer ;  and 
Job  only  at  Venice,  where  he  is  a  patron  saint. 

The  four  evangelists  and  the  twelve  apostles  are,  in  their 
collective  character  in  relation  to  the  Virgin,  treated  like  the 
prophets,  and  placed  around  the  altar-piece.  Where  we  find 
one  or  more  of  the  evangelists  introduced  into  the  group  of 
attendant  "  Sanctities  "  on  each  side  of  her  throne,  it  is  not  in 
their  character  of  evangelists,  but  rather  as  patron  saints. 
Thus  St.  Mark  appears  constantly  in  the  Venetian  pictures ; 
but  it  is  as  the  patron  and  protector  of  Venice.  St.  John  the 
Evangelist,  a  favorite  attendant  on  the  Virgin,  is  near  her  in 
virtue  of  his  peculiar  relation  to  her  and  to  Christ ;  and  he  is 
also  a  popular  patron  saint.  St.  Luke  and  St.  Matthew,  un- 
less they  be  patrons  of  the  particular  locality,  or  of  the  votary 
who  presents  the  picture,  never  appear.  It  is  the  same  with 
the  apostles  in  their  collective  character  as  such  ;  we  find  them 
constantly,  as  statues,  ranged  on  each  side  of  the  Virgin,  or  as 
separate  figures.  Thus  they  stand  over  the  screen  of  St. 
Mark's,  at  Venice,  and  also  on  the  carved  frames  of  the  altar- 
pieces  ;  but  either  from  their  number,  or  some  other  cause, 
they  are  seldom  grouped  round  the  enthroned  Virgin. 

It  is  St.  John  the  Baptist  who,  next  to  the  angels, 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  admitted  to  a  propinquity  with  the 
divine  persons.  In  Greek  Art  he  is  himself  an  angel,  a  mes- 
senger, and  often  represented  with  wings.      He  was  especially 


134  DEVOTIONAL    SUBJECTS 

venerated  in  the  Greek  Church  in  his  character  of  precursor 
of  the  Redeemer,  and,  as  such,  almost  indispensable  in  every 
sacred  group ;  and  it  is,  perhaps,  to  the  early  influence  of 
Greek  art  on  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  the  accessory 
personages  that  we  owe  the  preeminence  of  John  the  Baptist. 
One  of  the  most  graceful,  and  appropriate,  and  familiar  of  all 
the  accessory  figures  grouped  with  the  Virgin  and  Child  is  that 
of  the  young  St.  John  (called  in  Italian  San  Giovannino,  and 
in  Spanish  San  Juanito).  When  first  introduced,  we  find  him 
taking  the  place  of  the  singing  or  piping  angels  in  front  of  the 
throne.  He  generally  stands,  "  clad  in  his  raiment  of  camel's 
hair,  having  a  girdle  round  his  loins,"  and  in  his  hand  a  reed 
cross,  round  which  is  hound  a  scroll  with  the  words  Ecce  Ag- 
nus Dei  (Behold  the  Lamb  of  God),  while  with  his  finger  he 
points  up  to  the  enthroned  group  above  him,  expressing  the 
text  from  St.  Luke  (c.  ii.),  "  And  thou,  Child,  shalt  be  called 
the  Prophet  of  the  Highest,"  as  in  Francia's  picture  in  our 
National  Gallery.  Sometimes  he  bears  a  lamb  in  his  arms,  the 
Ecce  Agnus  Dei  in  form  instead  of  words. 

The  introduction  of  the  young  St.  John  becomes  more  and 
more  usual  from  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In 
later  pictures,  a  touch  of  the  dramatic  is  thrown  into  the  ar- 
rangement :  instead  of  being  at  the  foot  of  the  throne,  he  is 
placed  beside  it ;  as  where  the  Virgin  is  throned  on  a  lofty 
pedestal,  and  she  lays  one  hand  on  the  head  of  the  little  St. 
John,  while  with  the  other  she  strains  her  Child  to  her  bosom ; 
or  where  the  infant  Christ  and  St.  John,  standing  at  her  knee, 
embrace  each  other  —  a  graceful  incident  in  a  Holy  Family, 
but  in  the  enthroned  Madonna  it  impairs  the  religious  concep- 
tion ;  it  places  St.  John  too  much  on  a  level  with  the  Saviour, 
who  is  here  in  that  divine  character  to  which  St.  John  bore 
witness,  but  which  he  did  not  share.  It  is  very  unusual  to 
see  John  the  Baptist  in  his  childish  character  glorified  in 
heaven  among  the  celestial  beings :  I  remember  but  one  in- 
stance, in  a  beautiful  picture  by  Bonifazio,  in  the  Academy, 
Venice.1  The  Virgin  is  seated  in  glory,  with  her  Infant  on 
her  knee,  and  encircled  by  cherubim  ;  on  one  side  an  angel 
approaches  with  a  basket  of  flowers  on  his  head,  and  she  is  in 
act  to  take  these  flowers  and  scatter  them  on  the  saints  be- 
low, —  a  new  and  graceful  motif :  on  the  other  side  sits  John 
1  [Probably  Bonifazio  the  Venetian,  the  third  of  the  same  name.] 


THE    VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONKD  135 

the  Baptist  as  a  boy  about  twelve  years  of  age.  The  attendant 
saints  below  are  St.  Peter,  St.  Andrew,  St.  Thomas  holding 
the  girdle,1  St.  Francis  and  St.  Clara,  all  looking  up  with 
ecstatic  devotion,  except  St.  Clara,  who  looks  down  with  a 
charming  modesty. 

In  early  pictures,  St.  Anna,  the  mother  of  the  Virgin,  is 
very  seldom  introduced,  because  in  such  sublime  and  mystical 
representations  of  the  Vergine  Dea,  whatever  connected  her 
with  realities,  or  with  her  earthly  genealogy,  is  suppressed. 
But  from  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  St.  Anna  became, 
from  the  current  legends  of  the  history  of  the  Virgin,  an  im- 
portant saint,  and  when  introduced  into  the  devotional  groups, 
which,  however,  is  seldom,  it  seems  to  have  embarrassed  the 
painters  how  to  dispose  of  her.  She  could  not  well  be  placed 
below  her  daughter ;  she  could  not  be  placed  above  her.  It 
is  a  curious  proof  of  the  predominance  of  the  feminine  element 
throughout  these  representations,  that  while  St.  Joachim  the 
father,  and  St.  Joseph  the  husband  of  the  Virgin,  are  either 
omitted  altogether,  or  are  admitted  only  in  a  subordinate  and 
inferior  position,  St.  Anna,  when  she  does  appear,  is  on  an 
equality  with  her  daughter.  There  is  a  beautiful  example, 
and  apt  for  illustration,  in  the  picture  by  Francia,  in  our  Na- 
tional Gallery,  where  St.  Anna  and  the  Virgin  are  seated  to- 
gether on  the  same  throne,  and  the  former  presents  the  apple  to 
her  divine  Grandson.  I  remember,  too,  a  most  graceful  instance 
where  St.  Anna  stands  behind  and  a  little  above  the  throne, 
with  her  hands  placed  affectionately  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
Virgin,  and  raises  her  eyes  to  heaven  as  if  in  thanksgiving  to 
Grodj  who  through  her  had  brought  salvation  into  the  world. 
Where  the  Virgin  is  seated  on  the  knees  of  St.  Anna,  it  is  a 
still  later  innovation.  There  is  such  a  group  in  a  picture  in 
the  Louvre,  after  a  famous  cartoon  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci, 
which,  in  spite  of  its  celebrity,  has  always  appeared  to  me 
very  fantastic  and  irreverent  in  treatment.  There  is  also  a  fine 
print  by  Caraglio,  in  which  the  Virgin  and  Child  are  sustained 
on  the  knees  of  St.  Anna:  under  her  feet  lies  the  dragon.  St. 
Roch  and  St.  Sebastian  on  each  side,  the  dead  dragon,  show 
that  this  is  a  votive  subject,  an  expression  of  thanksgiving 
after  the  cessation  of  a  plague.  The  Germans,  who  were  fond 
1  St.  Thomas  is  called  in  the  catalogue,  James,  king  of  Aragon. 


136 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


of  this  group,  imparted  even  to  the  most  religious  treatment 
a  domestic  sentiment. 

The  earliest  instance  I  can  point  to  of  the  enthroned 
Virgin  attended  by  both  her  parents  is  by  [Alvise]  Vivarini 
(Academy,  Venice)  :   St.  Anna  is  on  the  right  of  the  throne ; 


St.  Anna,  Madonna,  and  Child  (Francesco  da  San  Gallo) 

St.  Joachim,  in  the  act  of  reverently  removing  his  cap,  stands 
on  the  left ;   more  in  front  is  a  group  of  Franciscan  saints. 

The  introduction  of  St.  Anna  into  a  Holy  Family,  as  part 
of  the  domestic  group,  is  very  appropriate  and  graceful ;  but 
this  of  course  admits,  and  indeed  requires,  a  wholly  different 
sentiment.  The  same  remark  applies  to  St.  Joseph,  who,  in 
the  earlier  representations  of  the  enthroned  Virgin,  is  carefully 
excluded;  he  appears,  I  think,  first  in  the  Venetian  pictures. 


THE   VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED  137 

There  is  an  example  in  a  splendid  composition  by  Paul  Vero- 
nese. (Academy,  Venice.)  The  Virgin,  on  a  lofty  throne, 
holds  the  Child ;  both  look  down  on  the  worshippers ;  St. 
Joseph  is  partly  seen  behind,  leaning  on  his  crutch.  Round 
the  throne  stand  St.  John  the  Baptist,  St.  Justina,  as  patroness 
of  Venice,  and  St.  George ;  St.  Jerome  is  on  the  other  side  in 
deep  meditation.  "A  magnificent  picture,  quite  sumptuous 
in  color  and  arrangement,  and  yet  so  solemn  and  so  calm  !  " 
There  is  another  example  by  Paul  Veronese,  similar  in  charac- 
ter and  treatment,  in  which  St.  John  and  St.  Joseph  are  on 
the  throne  with  the  Virgin  and  Child,  and  St.  Catherine  and 
St.  Anthony  below. 

The  composition  by  Michael  Angelo  styled  a  "  Holy  Family  " 
is,  though  singular  in  treatment,  certainly  devotional  in  charac- 
ter, and  an  enthroned  Virgin.  She  is  seated  in  the  centre,  on 
a  raised  architectural  seat,  holding  a  book  ;  the  infant  Christ 
slumbers  —  books  can  teach  him  nothing,  and  to  make  him 
reading  is  unorthodox.  In  the  background,  on  one  side,  St. 
Joseph  leans  over  a  balustrade,  as  if  in  devout  contemplation ; 
a  young  St.  John  the  Baptist  leans  on  the  other  side.  The 
grand-mannered,  symmetrical  treatment  is  very  remarkable  and 
characteristic.  There  are  many  engravings  of  this  celebrated 
composition.  In  one  of  them,  the  book  held  by  the  Virgin 
bears  on  one  side  the  text  in  Latin,  "  Blessed  art  thou  among 
women,  and  blessed  is  the  fruit  of  thy  womb."  On  the  oppo- 
site page,  "  Blessed  be  God,  who  has  regarded  the  low  state  of 
his  handmaiden.  For,  behold,  from  henceforth  all  genera- 
tions shall  call  me  blessed."  [A  painting  after  this  composi- 
tion by  Marcello  Venusti  is  in  the  National  Gallery.] 

While  the  young  St.  John  is  admitted  into  such  close  com- 
panionship with  the  enthroned  Madonna,  his  mother  Elizabeth, 
so  commonly  and  beautifully  introduced  into  the  Holy  Families, 
is  almost  uniformly  excluded. 

Next  in  order,  as  accessory  figures,  appear  some  one  or  two 
or  more  of  the  martyrs,  confessors,  and  virgin  patronesses,  with 
their  respective  attributes,  either  placed  in  separate  niches  and 
compartments  on  each  side,  or,  when  admitted  within  the  sacred 
precincts  where  sit  the  queenly  Virgin-mother  and  her  divine 
Son,  standing  in  the  manner  of  councillors  and  officers  of  state 
on  solemn  occasions  round  un  earthly  sovereign,  all  reverently 


138  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

calm  and  still ;  till  gradually  this  solemn  formality,  this  isola- 
tion of  the  principal  characters,  gave  way  to  some  sentiment 
which  placed  them  in  nearer  relation  to  each  other,  and  to  the 
divine  personages.  Occasional  variations  of  attitude  and  action 
were  introduced  —  at  first,  a  rare  innovation ;  ere  long,  a  cus- 
tom, a  fashion.  For  instance,  the  doctors  turn  over  the  leaves 
of  their  great  hooks  as  if  seeking  for  the  written  testimonies 
to  the  truth  of  the  mysterious  Incarnation  made  visible  in  the 
persons  of  the  Mother  and  Child ;  the  confessors  contemplate 
the  radiant  group  with  rapture,  and  seem  ready  to  burst  forth 
in  hymns  of  praise  ;  the  martyrs  kneel  in  adoration  ;  the  virgins 
gracefully  offer  their  victorious  palms :  and  thus  the  painters 
of  the  best  periods  of  Art  contrived  to  animate  their  sacred 
groups  without  rendering  them  too  dramatic  and  too  secular. 

Such,  then,  was  the  general  arrangement  of  that  religious 
subject  which  is  technically  styled  "  The  Madonna  enthroned 
and  attended  by  Saints."  The  selection  and  'the  relative  posi- 
tion of  these  angelic  and  saintly  accessories  were  not,  as  I 
have  already  observed,  matters  of  mere  taste  or  caprice  ;  and 
an  attentive  observation  of  the  choice  and  disposition  of  the 
attendant  figures  will  often  throw  light  on  the  original  signifi- 
cance of  such  pictures,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  they 
were  painted. 

Shall  I  attempt  a  rapid  classification  and  interpretation  of 
these  infinitely  varied  groups  ?  It  is  a  theme  which  might  well 
occupy  volumes  rather  than  pages,  and  which  requires  far  more 
antiquarian  learning  and  historical  research  than  I  can  pretend 
to ;  still,  by  giving  the  result  of  my  own  observations  in  some 
few  instances,  it  may  be  possible  so  to  excite  the  attention  and 
fancy  of  the  reader  as  to  lead  him  farther  on  the  same  path 
than  I  have  myself  been  able  to  venture. 

We  can  trace,  in  a  large  class  of  these  pictures,  a  general 
religious  significance,  common  to  all  periods,  all  localities, 
all  circumstances ;  while  in  another  class  the  interest  is  not 
only  particular  and  local,  but  sometimes  even  personal. 

To  the  first  class  belongs  the  antique  and  beautiful  group 
of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  enthroned  between  the  two  great 
archangels,  St.  Michael  and  St.  Gabriel.  It  is  probably  the 
most  ancient  of  these  combinations :   we  find  it  in  the  earliest 


THE   VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED 


139 


Madonna  of  the  Fish  (Raphael) 

Greek  Art,  in  the  carved  ivory  diptychs  of  the  eighth  and 
and  ninth  centuries,  in  the  old  Greco-Italian  pictures,  in  the 
ecclesiastical  sculpture  and  stained  glass  of  from  the  twelfth 
to  the  fifteenth  century.  In  the  most  ancient  examples,  the 
two  angels  are  seen  standing  on  each  side  of  the  Madonna,  not 
worshipping,  but  with  their  sceptics  and  attributes,  as  princes 
of  the  heavenly  host,  attending  on  her  who  is  queen  of  angels; 


140  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

St.  Gabriel  as  the  angel  of  birth  and  life,  St.  Michael  as  the 
angel  of  death,  that  is,  in  the  Christian  sense,  of  deliverance 
and  immortality.  There  was  an  instance  of  this  antique  treat- 
ment in  a  small  Greek  picture  in  the  Wallerstein  collection, 
Kensington  Palace  [now  dispersed]. 

In  later  pictures,  St.  Gabriel  seldom  appears  except  as  the 
Angelo  Annunziatore ;  but  St.  Michael  very  frequently. 
Sometimes,  as  conqueror  over  sin  and  representative  of  the 
Church  militant,  he  stands  with  his  foot  on  the  dragon  with  a 
triumphant  air  ;  or,  kneeling,  he  presents  to  the  infant  Christ 
the  scales  of  eternal  justice,  as  in  a  famous  picture  [in  the 
Louvre,  attributed  to  the  school]  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci.  It  is 
not  only  because  of  his  popularity  as  a  patron  saint,  and  of  the 
number  of  churches  dedicated  to  him,  that  he  is  so  frequently 
introduced  into  the  Madonna  pictures  ;  according  to  the  legend, 
he  was  by  divine  appointment  the  guardian  of  the  Virgin  and 
her  Son  while  they  sojourned  on  earth.  The  angel  Raphael 
leading  Tobias  always  expresses  protection,  and  especially  pro- 
tection to  the  young.  Tobias  with  his  fish  was  an  early  type 
of  baptism.  There  are  many  beautiful  examples.  In  Ra- 
phael's "  Madonna  dell'  Pesce  "  (Madrid  Gallery)  he  is  intro- 
duced as  the  patron  saint  of  the  painter,  but  not  without  a 
reference  to  a  more  sacred  meaning,  that  of  the  guardian  spirit 
of  all  humanity.  The  warlike  figure  of  St.  Michael,  and  the 
benign  St.  Raphael,  are  thus  represented  as  celestial  guardians 
in  the  beautiful  picture  by  Perugino  now  in  our  National 
Gallery. 

There  are  instances  of  the  three  archangels  all  standing  to- 
gether below  the  glorified  Virgin  ;  St.  Michael  in  the  centre 
with  his  foot  on  the  prostrate  fiend  ;  St.  Gabriel  on  the  right 
presents  his  lily  ;  and,  on  the  left,  the  protecting  angel  pre- 
sents his  human  charge,  and  points  up  to  the  source  of  salva- 
tion, as  in  an  engraving  after  Giulio  Romano. 

The  Virgin  between  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  is  also  an  ex- 
tremely ancient  and  significant  group.  It  appears  in  the  old 
mosaics.  As  chiefs  of  the  apostles  and  joint  founders  of  the 
Church,  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  are  prominent  figures  in  many 
groups  and  combinations,  particularly  in  the  altar-pieces  of  the 
Roman  churches,  and  those  painted  for  the  Benedictine  com- 
munities. 


THE   VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED  141 

The  Virgin,  when  supported  on  each  side  by  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul,  must  be  understood  to  represent  the  personified 
Church  between  her  two  great  founders  and  defenders ;  and 
this  relation  is  expressed  in  a  very  poetical  manner,  when  St. 
Peter,  kneeling,  receives  the  allegorical  keys  from  the  hand 
of  the  infant  Saviour.  There  are  some  curious  and  beautiful 
instances  of  this  combination  of  a  significant  action  with  the 
utmost  solemnity  of  treatment :  for  example,  in  that  very 
extraordinary  Franciscan  altar-piece  by  Carlo  Crivelli  [at  one 
time  in  an  English  collection,  now  in  the  Berlin  Gallery], 
where  St.  Peter,  having  deposited  his  papal  tiara  at  the  foot  of 
the  throne,  kneeling  receives  the  great  symbolical  keys.1  And 
again,  in  a  fine  picture  by  Andrea  Meldula,2  where  the  Virgin 
and  Child  are  enthroned,  and  the  infant  Christ  delivers  the 
keys  to  Peter,  who  stands,  but  with  a  most  reverential  air ; 
orl  the  other  side  of  the  throne  is  St.  Paul  with  his  book  and 
the  sword  held  upright.  There  are  also  two  attendant  angels. 
On  the  border  of  the  mantle  of  the  Virgin  is  inscribed  "  Ave 
Maria,  gratia  plena."  (In  the  collection  of  Mr.  Bromley  3  of 
Wootten.)  This  picture  is  otherwise  remarkable  as  the  only 
authenticated  work  of  a  very  rare  painter.  It  bears  his  signa- 
ture, and  the  style  indicates  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century 
as  the  probable  date. 

I  do  not  recollect  any  instance  in  which  the  four  evangelists 
as  such,  or  the  twelve  apostles  in  their  collective  character, 
wait  round  the  throne  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  though  one  or 
more  of  the  evangelists  and  one  or  more  of  the  apostles  per- 
petually occur. 

The  Virgin  between  St.  John  the  Baptist  and  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  is  also  a  very  significant  and  beautiful  combina- 
tion, and  one  very  frequently  met  with.  Though  both  these 
saints  were,  as  children,  contemporary  with  the  Child  Christ, 
and  so  represented  in  the  Holy  Families,  in  these  solemn  ideal 
groups  they  are  always  men.  The  first  St.  John  expresses 
regeneration  by  the  rite  of  baptism :  the  second  St.  John, 
distinguished  as  Theologus,  "  the  Divine,"  stands  with  his 
sacramental  cup,  expressing  regeneration  by  faith.     The  former 

1  [See  illustration  in  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  p.  194.] 

2  [The  same  picture  is  mentioned  in  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  p.  194,  as 
the  work  of  one  Giulio  della  Mendula.] 

8  [The  Uromley  collection  was  sold  in  18G.'3.1 


142  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

was  the  precursor  of  the  Saviour,  the  first  who  proclaimed  him 
to  the  world  as  such ;  the  latter  beheld  the  vision  in  Patmos, 
of  the  Woman  in  travail  pursued  by  the  dragon,  which  is 
interpreted  in  reference  to  the  Virgin  and  her  Child.  The 
group  thus  brought  into  relation  is  full  of  meaning,  and,  from 
the  variety  and  contrast  of  character,  full  of  poetical  and 
artistic  capabilities.  St.  John  the  Baptist  is  usually  a  man 
about  thirty,  with  wild  shaggy  hair  and  meagre  form,  so 
draped  that  his  vest  of  camel's  hair  is  always  visible  ;  he  holds 
his  reed  cross.  St.  John  the  Evangelist  is  generally  the 
young  and  graceful  disciple ;  but  in  some  instances  he  is  the 
venerable  seer  of  Patmos, 

Whose  beard  descending  sweeps  his  aged  breast. 

There  is  an  example  in  one  of  the  finest  pictures  by  Peru- 
gino.  (Bologna  Academy.)  The  Virgin  is  throned  above,  and 
surrounded  by  a  glory  of  seraphim,  with  many-colored  wings. 
The  Child  stands  on  her  knee.  In  the  landscape  below  are 
St.  Michael,  St.  Catherine,  St.  Apollonia,  and  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  as  the  aged  prophet  with  white  flowing  beard. 

The  Fathers  of  the  Church,  as  interpreters  and  defenders  of 
the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  are  very  significantly  placed 
near  the  throne  of  the  Virgin  and  Child.  In  Western  Art, 
the  Latin  doctors,  St.  Jerome,  St.  Ambrose,  St.  Augustine,  and 
St.  Gregory,  have  of  course  the  preeminence.  (See  Sacred* 
and  Legendary  Art.) 

The  effect  produced  by  these  aged,  venerable,  bearded  digni- 
taries, with  their  gorgeous  robes  and  mitres  and  flowing  beards, 
in  contrast  with  the  soft  simplicity  of  the  divine  Mother  and 
her  Infant,  is,  in  the  hands  of  really  great  artists,  wonderfully 
fine.  There  is  a  splendid  example,  by  Vivarini 1  (in  the  Acad- 
emy, Venice)  ;  the  old  doctors  stand  two  on  each  side  of  the 
throne,  where,  under  a  canopy  upborne  by  angels,  sits  the  Vir- 
gin, sumptuously  crowned  and  attired,  and  looking  most  serene 
and  goddess-like ;  while  the  divine  Child,  standing  on  her 
knee,  extends  his  little  hand  in  the  act  of  benediction.  Of 
this  picture  I  have  already  given  a  very  detailed  description. 
(See  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  p.  277.)  Another  example,  a 
grand  picture  by  Moretto,  now  in  the  Museum  at  Frankfort,  I 

1  [This  painting  is  probably  the  work  of  Giovanni  and  Antonio  da  Murano. 
Vide  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle,  History  of  Painting  in  North  Italy,  vol.  i. 
p.  27.] 


THE   VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED  143 

have  also  described.  There  is  here  a  touch  of  the  dramatic  sen- 
timent :  the  Virgin  is  tenderly  caressing  her  Child,  while  two 
of  the  old  doctors,  St.  Ambrose  and  St.  Augustine,  stand  rev- 
erently on  each  side  of  her  lofty  throne ;  St.  Gregory  sits  on 
the  step  below  reading,  and  St.  Jerome  bends  over  and  points 
to  a  page  in  his  book.  The  Virgin  is  not  sufficiently  dignified  ; 
she  has  too  much  the  air  of  a  portrait ;  and  the  action  of  the 
Child  is  also,  though  tender,  rather  unsuited  to  the  significance 
of  the  rest  of  the  group ;  but  the  picture  is,  on  the  whole, 
magnificent.  There  is  another  fine  example  of  the  four  doc- 
tors attending  on  the  Virgin,  in  the  Milan  Gallery,1  a  votive 
picture  of  the  Milanese  school,  dedicated  by  Ludovico  Sforza 
il  Moro. 

Sometimes  not  four,  but  only  two  of  these  Fathers,  appear 
in  combination  with  other  figures,  and  the  choice  would  depend 
on  the  locality  and  other  circumstances.  But,  on  the  whole, 
we  rarely  find  a  group  of  personages  assembled  round  the 
throne  of  the  Virgin  which  does  not  include  one  or  more  of 
these  venerable  pillars  of  the  Church.  St.  Ambrose  appears 
most  frequently  in  the  Milanese  pictures :  St.  Augustine  and 
St.  Jerome,  as  patriarchs  of  monastic  orders,  are  very  popu- 
lar :  St.  Gregory,  I  think,  is  more  seldom  met  with  than  the 
others. 

The  Virgin,  with  St.  Jerome  and  St.  Catherine,  the  patron 
saints  of  theological  learning,  is  a  frequent  group  in  all  monas- 
teries, but  particularly  in  the  churches  and  houses  of  the  Je- 
ronymites.  A  beautiful  example  is  the  Madonna  [school  of] 
Francia  [in  the  Borghese,  Rome].  St.  Jerome,  with  Mary 
Magdalene,  also  a  frequent  combination,  expresses  theological 
learning  in  union  with  religious  penitence  and  humility.  Cor- 
re^gio's  famous  picture  (at  Parma)  is  an  example,  where  St. 
Jerome  on  one  side  presents  his  works  in  defence  of  the  Church, 
and  his  translation  of  the  Scriptures  ;  while,  on  the  other,  Mary 
Magdalene,  bending  down  devoutly,  kisses  the  feet  of  the  infant 
Christ.2 

Of   all   the    attendants   on   the  Virgin  and  Child,   the   most 

i  [The  Hrera  catalogue  of  1892  mentions  two  paintings  of  the  Virgin  attended 
by  the  four  doctors,  one  by  Girolamo  Genga,  of  t he  (Tmbro-Tuscan  school;  an- 
otber  by  Scarsellino  of  the  Ferrarese  school.] 

2  [See  the  full-page  illustration  in  Hncird  and  Leytndary  Art,  p.  352.] 


144  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

popular  is,  perhaps,  St.  Catherine ;  and  the  "  Marriage  of  St. 
Catherine,"  as  a  religious  mystery,  is  made  to  combine  with 
the  most  solemn  and  formal  arrangement  of  the  other  attend- 
ant figures.  The  enthroned  Virgin  presides  over  the  mystical 
rite.  This  was,  for  intelligible  reasons,  a  favorite  subject  in 
nunneries.1 

In  a  picture  by  Garofalo,  the  Child,  bending  from  his 
mother's  knee,  places  a  golden  crown  on  the  head  of  St.  Cath- 
erine as  Sposa  ;  on  each  side  stand  St.  Agnes  and  St.  Jerome. 

In  a  picture  by  Carlo  Maratti,  the  nuptials  take  place  in 
heaven,  the  Virgin  and  Child  being  throned  in  clouds. 

If  the  kneeling  Sposa  be  St.  Catherine  of  Siena,  the  nun, 
and  not  St.  Catherine  of  Alexandria,  or  if  the  two  are  intro- 
duced, then  we  may  be  sure  that  the  picture  was  painted  for 
a  nunnery  of  the  Dominican  Order.  (See  Legends  of  the  Mo- 
nastic Orders,  p.  390.)  A  fine  example  of  this  group,  "  the 
Spozalizio  of  St.  Catherine  of  Siena,"  has  lately  been  added  to 
our  National  Gallery  (Lorenzo  di  San  Severino). 

The  great  Madonna  in  Trono  by  the  Dominican  Fra  Bar- 
tolommeo,  wherein  the  queenly  St.  Catherine  of  Alexandria 
witnesses  the  mystical  marriage  of  her  sister  saint,  the  nun  of 
Siena,  will  occur  to  every  one  who  has  been  at  Florence  [in 
the  Pitti]  ;  and  there  is  a  smaller  picture  by  the  same  painter 
in  the  Louvre :  a  different  version  of  the  same  subject. 

I  must  content  myself  with  merely  referring  to  these  well- 
known  pictures,  which  have  been  often  engraved,  and  dwell 
more  in  detail  on  another,  not  so  well  known,  and,  to  my  feel- 
ing, as  preeminently  beautiful  and  poetical,  but  in  the  early 
Flemish,  not  the  Italian  style  —  a  poem  in  a  language  less 
smooth  and  sonorous,  but  still  a  poem. 

This  is  the  altar-piece  painted  by  Mending  for  the  chari- 
table sisterhood  of  St.  John's  Hospital  at  Bruges.  The  Vir- 
gin is  seated  under  a  porch,  and  her  throne  decorated  with 
rich  tapestry ;  two  graceful  angels  hold  a  crown  over  her  head. 
On  the  right  St.  Catherine,  superbly  arrayed  as  a  princess, 
kneels  at  her  side,  and  the  beautiful  infant  Christ  bends  for- 
ward and  places  the  bridal  ring  on  her  finger.  Behind  her  a 
charming  angel,  playing  on  the  organ,  celebrates  the  espousals 
with  hymns  of  joy ;   beyond  him  stands  St.  John  the  Baptist 

1  For  a  detailed  account  of  the  legendary  marriage  of  St.  Catherine,  and 
examples  of  treatment,  see  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  p.  474. 


THE   VIRGIN   AND    CHILD   ENTHRONED  145 

with  his  lamb.  On  the  left  of  the  Virgin  kneels  St.  Barbara 
reading  intently  ;  behind  her  an  angel  with  a  book;  beyond 
him  stands  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  youthful,  mild,  and  pen- 
sive. Through  the  arcades  of  the  porch  is  seen  a  landscape 
background,  with  incidents  picturesquely  treated  from  the  lives 
of  the  Baptist  and  the  Evangelist.  Such  is  the  central  com- 
position. The  two  wings  represent,  on  one  side,  the  beheading 
of  St.  John  the  Baptist;  on  the  other,  St.  John  the  Evan- 
gelist at  Patmos,  and  the  vision  of  the  Apocalypse.  In  this 
great  work  there  is  a  unity  and  harmony  of  design  which  blends 
the  whole  into  an  impressive  poem.  The  object  was  to  do 
honor  to  the  patrons  of  the  hospital,  the  two  St.  Johns,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  to  express  the  piety  of  the  charitable  Sisters,  who, 
like  St.  Catherine  (the  type  of  contemplative  studious  piety), 
were  consecrated  and  espoused  to  Christ,  and,  like  St.  Barbara 
(the  type  of  active  piety),  were  dedicated  to  good  works.  It 
is  a  tradition  that  Memling  painted  this  altar-piece  as  a  votive 
ottering  in  gratitude  to  the  good  Sisters,  who  had  taken  him 
in  and  nursed  him  when  dangerously  wounded :  and  surely, 
if  this  tradition  be  true,  never  was  charity  more  magnificently 
recompensed. 

In  a  very  beautiful  picture  by  Ambrogio  Borgognone  the 
Virgin  is  seated  on  a  splendid  throne  ;  on  the  right  kneels  St. 
Catherine  of  Alexandria,  on  the  left  St.  Catherine  of  Siena  : 
the  Virgin  holds  a  hand  of  each,  which  she  presents  to  the 
divine  Child  seated  on  her  knee,  and  to  each  she  presents  a 
ring.      [National  Gallery.] 

The  Virgin  and  Child  between  St.  Catherine  and  St.  Barbara 
is  one  of  the  most  popular,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful and  expressive,  of  these  combinations ;  signifying  active 
and  contemplative  life,  or  the  two  powers  between  which  the 
social  state  was  divided  in  the  middle  ages,  namely,  the  ecclesi- 
astical and  the  military,  learning  and  arms;  St.  Catherine  being 
the  patron  of  the  first,  and  St.  Barbara  of  the  last.  (Sacred 
and  Legendary  Art,  pp.  458,  483.)  When  the  original  signifi- 
cance had  ceased  to  be  understood  or  appreciated,  the  group 
continued  to  be  a  favorite  one,  particularly  in  Germany;  and 
examples  are  infinite. 

The  Virgin  between  St.  Mary  Magdalene  and  St.  Barbara, 


146  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

the  former  as  the  type  of  penance,  humility,  and  meditative 
piety,  the  latter  as  the  type  of  fortitude  and  courage,  is  also 
very  common.  When  between  St.  Mary  Magdalene  and  St. 
Catherine,  the  idea  suggested  is  learning,  with  penitence  and 
humility  ;  this  is  a  most  popular  group.  So  is  St.  Lucia  with 
one  of  these  or  both  :  St.  Lucia  with  her  lamp  or  her  eyes  is 
always  expressive  of  light,  the  light  of  divine  wisdom. 

The  Virgin  between  St.  Nicholas  and  St.  George  is  a  very 
expressive  group ;  the  former  as  the  patron  saint  of  merchants, 
tradesmen,  and  seamen,  the  popular  saint  of  the  bourgeoisie ; 
the  latter  as  the  patron  of  soldiers,  the  chosen  saint  of  the 
aristocracy.  Those  two  saints  with  St.  Catherine  are  preemi- 
nent in  the  Venetian  pictures ;  for  all  three,  in  addition  to 
their  poetical  significance,  were  venerated  as  especial  protectors 
of  Venice. 

St.  George  and  St.  Christopher  both  stand  by  the  throne  of 
the  Virgin  of  Succor  as  protectors  and  deliverers  in  danger. 
The  attribute  of  St.  Christopher  is  the  little  Christ  on  his 
shoulder ;  and  there  are  instances  in  which  Christ  appears  on 
the  lap  of  his  Mother,  and  also  on  the  shoulder  of  the  attend- 
ant St.  Christopher.  This  blunder,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  has 
been  avoided,  very  cleverly  I  should  think  in  his  own  opinion, 
by  a  painter  who  makes  St.  Christopher  kneel,  while  the  Vir- 
gin places  the  little  Christ  on  his  shoulders,  a  concetto  quite 
inadmissible  in  a  really  religious  group. 

In  pictures  dedicated  by  charitable  communities  we  often 
find  St.  Nicholas  and  St.  Leonard  as  the  patron  saints  of 
prisoners  and  captives.  Wherever  St.  Leonard  appears  he  ex- 
presses deliverance  from  captivity.  St.  Omobuono,  St.  Mar- 
tin, St.  Elizabeth  of  Hungary,  St.  Roch,  or  other  beneficent 
saints,  waiting  round  the  Virgin  with  kneeling  beggars,  or  the 
blind,  the  lame,  the  sick  at  their  feet,  always  expressed  the 
Virgin  as  the  Mother  of  Mercy,  the  Consolatrix  afflictoni m . 
Such  pictures  were  commonly  found  in  hospitals,  and  the 
chapels  and  churches  of  the  Order  of  Mercy,  and  other  chari- 
table institutions.  The  examples  are  numerous.  I  remember 
one,  a  striking  picture,  by  Lartolommeo  Montagna,  where  the 
Virgin  and  Child  are   enthroned  in    the  centre  as   usual.      On 


THE   VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED  147 

her  right,  the  good  St.  Omobuono,  dressed  as  a  burgher,  in  a 
red  gown  and  fur  cap,  gives  alms  to  a  poor  beggar ;  on  the 
left,  St.  Francis  presents  a  celebrated  friar  of  his  Order,  Ber- 
nardino da  Feltri,  the  first  founder  of  a  mont  de  piete,  who 
kneels,  holding  the  emblem  of  his  institution,  a  little  green 
mountain  with  a  cross  at  the  top. 

Besides  these  saints,  who  have  a  general  religious  character 
and  significance,  we  have  the  national  and  local  saints,  whose 
presence  very  often  marks  the  country  or  school  of  Art  which 
produced  the  picture. 

A  genuine  Florentine  Madonna  is  distinguished  by  a  certain 
elegance  and  stateliness,  and  well  becomes  her  throne.  As 
patroness  of  Florence,  in  her  own  right,  the  Virgin  bears  the 
title  of  Santa  Maria  del  Fiore,  and  in  this  character  she  holds 
a  flower,  generally  a  rose,  or  is  in  the  act  of  presenting  it  to 
the  Child.  She  is  often  attended  by  St.  John  the  Baptist,  as 
patron  of  Florence  ;  but  he  is  everywhere  a  saint  of  such 
power  and  importance  as  an  attendant  on  the  divine  person- 
ages, that  his  appearance  in  a  picture  does  not  stamp  it  as 
Florentine.  St.  Cosmo  and  St.  Damian  are  Florentine,  as  the 
protectors  of  the  Medici  family  ;  but  as  patrons  of  the  healing 
art  they  have  a  significance  which  renders  them  common  in 
the  Venetian  and  other  pictures.  It  may,  however,  be  deter- 
mined, that  if  St.  John  the  Baptist,  St.  Cosmo,  and  St.  Da- 
mian, with  St.  Laurence  (the  patron  of  Lorenzo  the  Magnifi- 
cent), appear  together  in  attendance  on  the  Virgin,  that  picture 
is  of  the  Florentine  school.  The  presence  of  St.  Zenobio,  or 
of  St.  Antonino,  the  patron  archbishops  of  Florence,  will  set 
the  matter  at  rest,  for  these  are  exclusively  Florentine.  In  a 
picture  by  Giotto,  angels  attend  on  the  Virgin  bearing  vases 
of  lilies  in  their  hands.  (Lilies  are  at  once  the  emblem  of 
the  Virgin  and  the  device  of  Florence.)  On  each  side  kneel 
St.  John  the  Baptist  and  St.  Zenobio.  We  now  possess  in 
our  National  Gallery  a  very  interesting  example  of  a  Floren- 
tine enthroned  .Madonna,  attended  by  St.  John  the  Baptist 
and  St.  Zenobio  as  patrons  <>f  Florence  (Benozzo  Gozzoli). 

A  Siena  Madonna  would  naturally  be  attended  by  St.  Ber- 
nardino and  St.  Catherine  of  Siena;  if  they  seldom  appear 
together,  it  is  because  they  belong  to  different  religious  orders. 

In  the    Venetian    pictures  we   find   a   crowd   of  guardian 


148  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

saints ;  first  among  them,  St.  Mark,  then  St.  Catherine,  St. 
George,  St.  Nicholas,  and  St.  Justina :  wherever  these  appear 
together,  that  picture  is  surely  from  the  Venetian  school. 

All  through  Lombardy  and  Piedmont,  St.  Ambrose  of  Milan 
and  Si,  Maurice  of  Savoy  are  favorite  attendants  on  the  Vir- 
gin. 

In  Spanish  and  Flemish  Art,  the  usual  attendants  on  the 
queenly  Madonna  are  monks  and  nuns,  which  brings  us  to  the 
consideration  of  a  large  and  interesting  class  of  pictures,  those 
dedicated  hy  the  various  religious  Orders.  When  we  remem- 
ber that  the  institution  of  some  of  the  most  influential  of 
these  communities  was  coeval  with  the  revival  of  Art ;  that, 
for  three  or  four  centuries,  Art  in  all  its  forms  had  no  more 
powerful  or  more  munificent  patrons ;  that  they  counted 
among  their  various  brotherhoods  some  of  the  greatest  artists 
the  world  has  seen  ;  we  can  easily  imagine  how  the  heatified 
members  of  these  Orders  have  become  so  conspicuous  as  at- 
tendants on  the  celestial  personages.  To  those  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  read  the  significance  of  works  of  Art,  a  single  glance 
is  often  sufficient  to  decide  for  what  Order  it  has  been  exe- 
cuted. 

St.  Paul  is  a  favorite  saint  of  the  Benedictine  communities ; 
and  there  are  few  great  pictures  painted  for  them  in  which  he 
does  not  appear.  When  in  companionship  with  St.  Benedict, 
either  in  the  original  black  habit  or  the  white  habit  of  the  re- 
formed Orders,  with  St.  Scholastica  bearing  her  dove,  with  St. 
Bernard,  St.  Romualdo,  or  other  worthies  of  this  venerable 
community,  the  interpretation  is  easy. 

There  is  an  example  by  Domenico  Puligo.  The  Virgin, 
not  seated,  but  standing  on  a  lofty  pedestal,  looks  down  on 
her  worshippers  ;  the  Child  in  her  arms  extends  the  right 
hand  in  benediction ;  with  his  left  he  points  to  himself,  "  I 
am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life."  Around  are  six  saints, 
St.  Peter,  St.  Paul,  St.  John  the  Baptist  as  protector  of  Flor- 
ence, St.  Matthew,  St.  Catherine ;  and  St.  Bernard,  in  his 
ample  white  habit,  with  his  keen  intellectual  face,  is  ahout  to 
write  in  a  great  book,  and  looks  up  to  the  Virgin  for  inspi- 
ration. The  picture  was  originally  painted  for  the  Cistercians. 
It  is  now  in  the  S.  Maria  Maddalena  de'  Pazzi  at  Florence. 
Engraved  in  the  "  Etruria  Pittrice,"  xxxv. 


THE   VIRGIN   AND   CHILD    ENTHRONED  149 

The  Virgin  and  Child  enthroned  between  St.  Augustine 
and  his  mothex  St.  Monica,  as  in  a  fine  picture  by  Florigerio  1 
(Academy,  Venice),  would  show  the  picture  to  be  painted  for 
one  of  the  numerous  branches  of  the  Augustine  Order.  St. 
Anthony  the  abbot  is  a  favorite  saint  in  pictures  painted  for 
the  Augustine  hermits. 

In  the  "  Madonna  del  Baldacchino "  of  Raphael  [Pitti, 
Florence],  the  beardless  saint  who  stands  in  a  white  habit  on 
one  side  of  the  throne  is  usually  styled  St.  Bruno ;  an  evident 
mistake.  It  is  not  a  Carthusian,  but  a  Cistercian  monk,  and 
I  think  St.  Bernard,  the  general  patron  of  monastic  learning. 
The  other  attendant  saints  are  St.  Peter,  St.  James,  and  St. 
Augustine.  The  picture  was  originally  painted  for  the  church 
of  San  Spirito  at  Florence,  belonging  to  the  Augustines. 

But  St.  Augustine  is  also  the  patriarch  of  the  Franciscans 
and  Dominicans,  and  frequently  takes  an  influential  place  in 
their  pictures,  as  the  companion  either  of  St.  Francis  or  of 
St.  Dominick,  as  in  a  picture  by  Fra  Angelico.  (Pitti,  Flor- 
ence.) 

Among  the  votive  Madonnas  of  the  mendicant  Orders  I  will 
mention  a  few  conspicuous  for  beauty  and  interest,  which  will 
serve  as  a  key  to  others. 

1.  The  Virgin  and  Child  enthroned  between  St.  Anthony 
of  Padua  and  St.  Clara  of  Assisi,  as  in  a  small  elegant  picture 
by  Pellegrino,  must  have  been  dedicated  in  a  church  of  the 
Franciscans.      (Sutherland  Gallery.) 

1'.  The  Virgin  blesses  St.  Francis,  who  looks  up  adoring  : 
behind  him  St.  Anthony  of  Padua ;  on  the  other  side,  St. 
John  the  Baptist  as  a  man,  and  St.  Catherine.  A  celebrated 
but  not  an  agreeable  picture,  painted  by  Correggio  for  the 
Franciscan  church  at  Parma  [and  now  in  the]  Dresden  Gal- 
lery. 

3.  The  Virgin  is  seated  in  glory  ;  on  one  side  St.  Francis, 
on  the  other  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  both  placed  in  heaven,  and 
almost  on  an  equality  with  the  celestial  personages.  Around 
are  seven  female  figures,  representing  the  seven  cardinal  vir- 
tues, bearing  their  respective  attributes.  Below  are  seen  the 
worthies  of  the  Franciscan  Order  ;   to  the  right  of  the  Virgin, 

l  [Catalogued   to  Benedetto  Diana,  to  whom   it  is  ascribed   by  Crowe  and 
Cavalcaselle,  who  also  quote  the  authority  of  Boschini,  Ridolfi,  Sansovino,  and 

Zanetti.     Vide  History  of  Painting  in  North  Italy,  vol.  i.  p.  226.] 


150  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

St.  Elizabeth  of  Hungary,  St.  Louis  of  France,  St.  Bonaven- 
tura ;  to  the  left,  St.  Ives  of  Bretagne,  St.  Eleazar,  and  St. 
Louis  of  Toulouse.  (Vide  Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders.) 
Painted  for  the  Franciscans  by  [Francesco]  Morone  and  Paolo 
Cavazzola  [or  Morando]  of  Verona,1  [and  now  in  the  Gallery 
of  Verona].  This  is  a  picture  of  wonderful  beauty,  and  quite 
poetical  in  the  sentiment  and  arrangement,  and  the  mingling 
of  the  celestial,  the  allegorical,  .and  the  real  personages,  with  a 
certain  solemnity  and  gracefulness  quite  indescribable.  The 
virtues,  for  instance,  are  not  so  much  allegorical  persons  as 
spiritual  appearances,  and  the  whole  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
picture  is  like  a  vision. 

4.  The  Virgin,  standing  on  the  tree  of  life,  holds  the  In- 
fant ;  rays  of  glory  proceed  from  them  on  every  side.  St. 
Francis,  kneeling  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  looks  up  in  an  ec- 
stasy of  devotion,  while  a  snake  with  a  wounded  and  bleeding 
head  is  crawling  away.  This  strange  picture,  painted  for  the 
Franciscans  by  Carducho,  about  1625,  is  a  representation  of 
an  abstract  dogma  (redemption  from  original  sin),  in  the  most 
real,  most  animated  form,  —  all  over  life,  earthly  breathing 
life,  —  and  made  me  start  back  ;  in  the  mingling  of  mysticism 
and  materialism  it  is  quite  Spanish.2 

5.  The  Virgin  and  Child  enthroned.  [Benozzo  Gozzoli.] 
On  the  right  of  the  Virgin,  St.  John  the  Baptist  and  St.  Zeno- 
bio,  the  two  protectors  of  Florence.  The  latter  wears  his 
episcopal  cope  richly  embroidered  with  figures.  On  the  left 
stand  St.  Peter  and  St.  Dominick,  protectors  of  the  company 
for  whom  the  picture  was  painted.  In  front  kneel  St.  Jerome 
and  St.  Francis.  This  picture  was  originally  placed  in  San 
Marco,  a  church  belonging  to  the  Dominicans.  I  saw  and  ad- 
mired this  fine  and  valuable  picture  in  the  Binuccini  palace  at 

1  [Although  Morone  and  Cavazzola  sometimes  worked  in  partnership,  the 
picture  here  described  is  assigned  by  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle  to  Cavazzola  alone. 
Vide  History  of  Painting  in  North  ftaly,  vol.  i.  p.  504.] 

2  Esterhazy  Gallery,  Vienna.  Mr.  Stirling  tells  us  that  the  Franciscan  friars 
of  Valladolid  possessed  two  pictures  of  the  Virgin  by  Matteo  de  Cerezo,  "  in 
one  of  which  she  was  represented  sitting  in  a  cherry-tree  and  adored  by  St. 
Francis.  This  unusual  throne  may  perhaps  have  been  introduced  by  Cerezo 
as  a  svmbol  of  his  own  devout  feelings,  his  patronymic-being  theCastilian  word 
for  cherry-tree."  Stirling-Maxwell's  Artists  of  Spain.  There  are,  however, 
many  prints  and  pictures  of  the  Virgin  and  Child  seated  in  a  tree.  It  was  one 
of  the  fantastic  conceptions  of  an  unhealthy  period  of  religion  and  art. 


THE   VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED  151 

Florence  in  1847 ;  it  was  purchased  for  our  National  Gallery 
in  [1856]. 

6.  When  the  Virgin  or  the  Child  holds  the  rosary,  it  is  then 
a  Madonna  del  Rosario,  and  painted  for  the  Dominicans. 
The  Madonna  hy  Murillo,  in  the  Dulwich  Gallery,  is  an  ex- 
ample. There  is  an  instance  in  which  the  Madonna  and  Child 
enthroned  are  distributing  rosaries  to  the  worshippers,  and  at- 
tended by  St.  Dominick  and  St.  Peter  Martyr,  the  two  great 
saints  of  the  Order.      (Caravaggio,  Belvedere  Gallery,  Vienna.) 

7.  Very  important  in  pictures  is  the  Madonna  as  more  par^ 
ticularly  the  patroness  of  the  Carmelites,  under  her  well-known 
title  of  "  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel,"  or  La  Madonna  del 
Carmine.  The  members  of  this  Order  received  from  Pope 
Honorius  III.  the  privilege  of  styling  themselves  the  "  Family 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin,"  and  their  churches  are  all  dedicated 
to  her  under  the  title  of  "  S.  Maria  del  Carmine."  She  is  gen- 
erally represented  holding  the  infant  Christ,  with  her  robe 
outspread,  and  beneath  its  folds  the  Carmelite  brethren  and 
their  chief  saints.  ( Vide  Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders, 
"The  Carmelites,"  p.  417.)  There  is  an  example  in  a  picture 
by  Pordenone  which  once  belonged  to  Canova,  and  is  now  in 
the  Academy  at  Venice.  The  Madonna  del  Carmine  is  also 
portrayed  as  distributing  to  her  votaries  small  tablets  on  which 
is  a  picture  of  herself. 

8.  The  Virgin,  as  patroness  of  the  Order  of  Mercy,  also  dis- 
tributes tablets,  but  they  bear  the  badge  of  the  Order ;  and 
this  distinguishes  "  Our  Lady  of  Mercy,"  so  popular  in  Span- 
ish Art,  from  "  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel."  {Vide  Legends 
of  the  Monastic  Orders,  p.  240.) 

A  large  class  of  these  Madonna  pictures  are  votive  offerings 
for  public  or  private  mercies.  They  present  some  most  inter- 
esting varieties  of  character  and  arrangement. 

A  votive  Mater  Misericordise,  with  the  Child  in  her  arms,  is 
often  standing  with  her  wide  ample  robe  extended,  and  held 
up  on  each  side  by  angels.  Kneeling  at  her  feet  are  the  vo- 
taries who  have  consecrated  the  picture,  generally  some  com- 
munity or  brotherhood  instituted  for  charitable  purposes,  who, 
as  they  kneel,  present  the  objects  of  their  charity  —  widows, 
orphans,  prisoners,  or  the  sick  and  infirm.  The  Child,  in  her 
arms,  bends  forward  with  the  hand  raised  in  benediction.  I 
have  already  spoken  of  the  Mater  Misericordise    without  the 


152  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

Child.  The  sentiment  is  yet  more  beautiful  and  complete 
where  the  Mother  of  Mercy  holds  the  infant  Redeemer,  the  rep- 
resentative and  pledge  of  God's  infinite  mercy,  in  her  arms. 

There  is  a  "Virgin  of  Mercy,"  by  Salvator  Rosa,  which  is 
singular  and  rather  poetical  in  the  conception.  She  is  seated 
in  heavenly  glory ;  the  infant  Christ,  on  her  knee,  bends  be- 
nignly forward.  Tutelary  angels  are  represented  as  pleading 
for  mercy,  with  eager  outstretched  arms ;  other  angels,  lower 
down,  are  liberating  the  souls  of  repentant  sinners  from  tor- 
ment. The  expression  in  some  of  the  heads,  the  contrast 
between  the  angelic  pitying  spirits  and  the  anxious  haggard 
features  of  the  Anime  del  Purgatorio,  are  very  fine  and  ani- 
mated. Here  the  Virgin  is  the  "  Refuge  of  Sinners,"  Refa- 
gium  Peccatorum.  Such  pictures  are  commonly  met  with  in 
chapels  dedicated  to  services  for  the  dea'd. 

Another  class  of  votive  pictures  are  especial  acts  of  thanks- 
giving, —  1st.  For  victory,  as  La  Madonna  delta  Vittoria, 
Notre  Dame  des  Victoires.  The  Virgin,  on  her  throne,  is  then 
attended  by  one  or  more  of  the  warrior  saints,  together  with  the 
patron  or  patroness  of  the  victors.  She  is  then  our  Lady  of 
Victory.  A  very  perfect  example  of  these  victorious  Madonnas 
exists  in  a  celebrated  picture  by  Andrea  Mantegna.  The  Vir- 
gin is  seated  on  a  lofty  throne,  embowered  by  garlands  of  fruit, 
leaves,  and  flowers,  and  branches  of  coral,  fancifully  disposed 
as  a  sort  of  canopy  over  her  head.  The  Child  stands  on  her 
knee,  and  raises  his  hand  in  the  act  of  benediction.  On  the 
right  of  the  Virgin  appear  the  warlike  saints,  St.  Michael  and 
St.  Maurice ;  they  recommend  to  her  protection  the  Marquis 
of  Mantua,  Giovanni  Francesco  Gonzaga,  who  kneels  in  com- 
plete armor.1  On  the  left  stand  St.  Andrew  and  St.  Longinus, 
the  guardian  saints  of  Mantua ;  on  the  step  of  the  throne  the 
young  St.  John  the  Baptist,  patron  of  the  Marquis ;  and,  more 
in  front,  a  female  figure,  seen  half  length,  which  some  have 
supposed  to  be  St.  Elizabeth,  the  mother  of  the  Baptist,  and 
others,  with  more  reason,  the  wife  of  the  Marquis,  the  accom- 
plished Isabella  d'Este.2     This   picture  was  dedicated   in  cele- 

1  "Qui  rend  graces  du  pretendn  succes  obtenu  sur  Charles  VIII.  a  la  bataille 
de  Fornone,"  as  the  French  catalogue  expresses  it. 

2  Both,  however,  may  be  right ;  for  St.  Elizabeth  was  the  patron  saint  of  the 
Marchesana ;  the  head  has  quite  the  air  of  a  portrait,  and  may  be  Isabella  in 
likeness  of  a  saint. 


MADONNA  OF    VICTORY  (Mantegna) 


THE   VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED 


153 


bration  of  the  victor)'  gained  by  Gonzaga  over  the  French, 
near  Fornone,  in  1495. 1  There  is  something  exceedingly 
grand,  and,  at  the  same  time,  exceedingly  fantastic  and  poeti- 
cal, in  the  whole  arrangement;  and  besides  its  beauty  and  his- 
torical importance,  it  is  the  most  important  work  of  Andrea 
Mantegna.  Gonzaga,  who  is  the  hero  of  the  picture,  was  a 
poet  as  well  as  a  soldier.  Isabella  d'Este  shines  conspicuously, 
both  for  virtue  and  talent,  in  the  history  of  the  revival  of  Art 
during  the  fifteenth  century.  She  was  one  of  the  first  who 
collected  gems,  antiques,  pictures,  and  made  them  available  for 
the  study  and  improvement  of  the  learned.  Altogether,  the 
picture  is  most  inter- 
esting in  every  point  of 
view.  It  was  carried 
off  by  the  French  from 
Milan  in  1797 ;  and  con- 
sidering the  occasion  on 
which  it  was  painted, 
they  must  have  had  a 
special  pleasure  in  pla- 
cing it  in  their  Louvre, 
where  it  still  remains. 

There  is  a  very  cu- 
rious and  much  more 
ancient  Madonna  of 
this  class  preserved  at 
Siena,  and  styled  the 
"  Madonna  del  Voto." 
The  Sienese,  being  at 
war  with  Florence, 
placed  their  city  under 
the  protection  of  the 
Virgin,     and     made     a  Madonna  del  Voto 

solemn    vow     that,    if 

victorious,  they  would  make  over  their  whole  territory  to  her 
as  a  perpetual  possession,  and  hold  it  from  her  as  her  loyal 
vassals.  After  the  victory  of  Arbia,  winch  placed  Florence 
itself   for    a   time    in   such    imminent    danger,    a   picture     was 


1  "Si  les  soldats  avaient  mieux  secondo  la  bravourc  de  leur  chef,  l'armee  de 
Charles  VIII,  «'tait  perdue;  sans  ressource.  lis  se  disperserent  pour  piller  et 
laisserent  aux   Fran<;ais  le  temps  de  continuer  leur  route." 


154  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

dedicated  by  Siena  to  the  Virgin  della  Vittoria.  She  is  en- 
throned and  crowned,  and  the  infant  Christ,  standing  on  her 
knee,  holds  in  his  hand  the  deed  of  gift. 

2dly.  For  deliverance  from  plague  and  pestilence,  those 
scourges  of  the  middle  ages.  In  such  pictures  the  Virgin  is 
generally  attended  by  St.  Sebastian,  with  St.  Koch  or  St. 
George,  sometimes,  also,  by  St.  Cosmo  and  St.  Damian,  all  of 
them  protectors  and  healers  in  time  of  sickness  and  calamity. 
These  intercessors  are  often  accompanied  by  the  patrons  of  the 
church  or  locality. 

There  is  a  remarkable  picture  of  this  class  in  the  Siena 
Academy,  by  Matteo  di  Giovanni  [or  Matteo  da  Siena],  in 
which  the  Virgin  and  Child  are  throned  between  St.  Sebastian 
and  St.  George,  while  St.  Cosmo  and  St.  Damian,  dressed  as 
physicians,  and  holding  their  palms,  kneel  before  the  throne. 

In  a  famous  picture  by  Titian  (Rome,  Vatican),  the  Virgin 
and  Child  are  seated  in  heavenly  glory.  She  has  a  smiling 
and  gracious  expression,  and  the  Child  holds  a  garland,  while 
angels  scatter  flowers.  Below  stand  St.  Sebastian,  St.  Nicholas, 
St.  Catherine,  St.  Peter,  and  St.  Francis.  The  picture  was 
an  offering  to  the  Virgin,  after  the  cessation  of  a  pestilence 
at  Venice,  and  consecrated  in  a  church  of  the  Franciscans  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Nicholas.1 

Another  celebrated  votive  picture  against  pestilence  is  Cor- 
reggio's  "  Madonna  di  San  Sebastiano."  (Dresden  Gallery.) 
She  is  seated  in  heavenly  glory,  with  little  angels,  not  so  much 
adoring  as  sporting  and  hovering  round  her ;  below  are  St. 
Sebastian  and  St.  Roch,  the  latter  asleep.  (There  would  be 
an  impropriety  in  exhibiting  St.  Roch  sleeping  but  for  the 
reference  to  the  legend,  that,  while  he  slept,  an  angel  healed 
him,  which  lends  the  circumstance  a  kind  of  poetical  beauty.) 
St.  Sebastian,  bound,  looks  up  on  the  other  side.  The  intro- 
duction of  St.  Geminiano,  the  patron  of  Modena,  shows  the 
picture  to  have  been  painted  for  that  city,  which  had  been 
desolated  by  pestilence  in  1512.  The  date  of  the  picture  is 
1515. 

We  may  then  take  it  for  granted,  that  wherever  the  Virgin 
and  Child  appear  attended  by  St.  Sebastian  and  St.  Roch,  the 
picture  has   been   a   votive   offering   against  the   plague ;    and 

1  San  Niccolb  de'  Frari  since  destroyed ;  and  the  picture  has  been  transferred 
to  the  Vatican. 


THE   VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED  155 

there  is  something  touching  in  the  number  of  such  memorials 
which  exist  in  the  Italian  churches.  (See  Sacred  and  Legend- 
ary Art,  pp.  404,  419.) 

The  brotherhoods  instituted  in  most  of  the  towns  of  Italy 
and  Germany  for  attending  the  sick  and  plague-stricken  in 
times  of  public  calamity  were  placed  under  the  protection  of 
the  Virgin  of  Mercy,  St.  Sebastian,  and  St.  Roch ;  and  many 
of  these  pictures  were  dedicated  by  such  communities,  or  by 
the  municipal  authorities  of  the  city  or  locality.  ■  There  is  a 
memorable  example  in  a  picture  by  Guido,  painted  by  command 
of  the  Senate  of  Bologna,  after  the  cessation  of  the  plague 
which  desolated  the  city  in  1630.  (Academy,  Bologna.)  The 
benign  Virgin,  with  her  Child,  is  seated  in  the  skies ;  the 
rainbow,  symbol  of  peace  and  reconciliation,  is  under  her  feet. 
The  infant  Christ,  lovely  and  gracious,  raises  his  right  hand  in 
the  act  of  blessing ;  in  the  other  he  holds  a  branch  of  olive  : 
angels  scatter  flowers  around.  Below  stand  the  guardian  saints, 
the  "  Santi  Protettori  "  of  Bologna  :  St.  Petronius,  St.  Fran- 
cis. St.  Dominick  ;  the  warrior-martyrs  St.  Proculus  and  St. 
Florian,  in  complete  armor ;  with  St.  Ignatius  and  St.  Francis 
Xavier.  Below  these  is  seen,  as  if  through  a  dark  cloud  and 
diminished,  the  city  of  Bologna,  where  the  dead  are  borne 
away  in  carts  and  on  biers.  The  upper  part  of  this  famous 
picture  is  most  charming  for  the  gracious  beauty  of  the  expres- 
sion, the  freshness  and  delicacy  of  the  color.  The  lower  part 
is  less  happy,  though  the  head  of  St.  Francis,  which  is  the 
portrait  of  Gruido's  intimate  friend  and  executor,  Saulo  Guidotti, 
can  hardly  be  exceeded  for  intense  and  lifelike  truth.  The 
other  figures  are  deficient  in  expression,  and  the  execution 
hurried,  so  that  on  the  whole  it  is  inferior  to  the  votive  Pietk 
already  described.  Guido,  it  is  said,  had  no  time  to  prepare  a 
canvas  or  cartoons,  and  painted  the  whole  on  a  piece  of  white 
silk.  It  was  carried  in  grand  procession,  and  solemnly  dedi- 
cated by  the  Senate,  whence  it  obtained  the  title  by  which  it 
is  celebrated  in  the  history  of  Art,  "  II  Pallione  del  Voto." 

3dly.  Against  inundations,  flood,  and  fire,  St.  George  is  the 
great  protector.  This  saint  and  St.  Barbara,  who  is  patroness 
against  thunder  and  tempest,  express  deliverance  from  such 
calamities,  when  in  companionship. 

The  "Madonna  di  San  Giorgio"  of  Correggio  (Dresden 
Gallery)  is  a  votive  altar-piece  dedicated  on  the  occasion  of  a 


156  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

great  inundation  of  the  river  Se'cchia.  She  is  seated  on  her 
throne,  and  the  Child  looks  down  on  the  worshippers  and 
votaries.  St.  George  stands  in  front  victorious,  his  foot  on 
the  head  of  the  dragon.  The  introduction  of  St.  Geminiano 
tells  us  that  the  picture  was  painted  for  the  city  of  Modena ; 
the  presence  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  and  St.  Peter  Martyr 
shows  that  it  was  dedicated  by  the  Dominicans,  in  their  church 
of  St.  John.      (See  Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders.) 

Not  less  interesting  are  those  votive  Madonnas  dedicated  by 
the  piety  of  families  and  individuals.  In  the  family  altar- 
pieces,  the  votary  is  often  presented  on  one  side  by  his  patron 
saint,  and  his  wife  by  her  patron  on  the  other.  Not  seldom  a 
troop  of  hopeful  sons  attend  the  father,  and  a  train  of  gentle, 
demure-looking  daughters  kneel  behind  the  mother.  Such 
memorials  of  domestic  affection  and  grateful  piety  are  often 
very  charming ;  they  are  pieces  of  family  biography :  2  we 
have  celebrated  examples  both  in  German  and  Italian  Art. 

1.  The  "  Madonna  della  Famiglia  Bentivoglio  "  was  painted 
[in  1488]  by  Lorenzo  Costa  for  Giovanni  II.,  lord  or  tyrant 
of  Bologna  from  1462  to  1506.  The  history  of  this  Giovanni 
is  mixed  up  in  an  interesting  manner  with  the  revival  of  art 
and  letters ;  he  was  a  great  patron  of  both,  and  among  the 
painters  in  his  service  were  Francesco  Francia  and  Lorenzo 
Costa.  The  latter  painted  for  him  his  family  chapel  in 
the  church  of  San  Giacomo  at  Bologna ;  and,  while  the  Benti- 
vogli  have  long  since  been  chased  from  their  native  terri- 
tory, their  family  altar  still  remains  untouched,  unviolated. 
The  Virgin,  as  usual,  is  seated  on  a  lofty  throne  bearing  her 
divine  Child ;  she  is  veiled,  no  hair  seen,  and  simply  draped, 
she  bends  forward  with  mild  benignity.  To  the  right  of  the 
throne  kneels  Giovanni  with  his  four  sons ;  on  the  left  his 
wife,  attended  by  six  daughters:  all  are  portraits,  admirable 
studies  for  character  and  costume.  Behind  the  daughters,  the 
head  of  an  old  woman  is  just  visible  —  according  to  tradition, 
the  old  nurse  of  the  family. 

2.  Another  most  interesting  family  Madonna  is  that  of 
Ludovico  Sforza  il  Moro,  painted  for  the  church  of  Sant'  Am- 
brogio   at    Milan    by  an    unknown    painter   of   the    school   of 

i  Several  are  engraved,  as  illustrations,  in  Litta's  great  History  of  the  Italian 
Families. 


THE    VIRGIN   AND    CHILD   ENTHRONED  157 

Leonardo,1  and  now  in  the  gallery  of  the  Brera.  The  Virgin 
sits  enthroned,  richly  dressed,  with  long  fair  hair  hanging 
down,  and  no  veil  or  ornament ;  two  angels  hold  a  crown  over 
her  head.  The  Child  lies  extended  on  her  knee.  Round  her 
throne  are  the  four  fathers,  St.  Ambrose,  St.  Gregory,  St. 
Jerome,  and  St.  Augustine.  In  front  of  the  throne  kneels 
Ludovico  il  Moro,  duke  of  Milan,  in  a  rich  dress  and  unarmed  ; 
Ambrose,  as  protector  of  Milan,  lays  his  hand  upon  his  shoul- 
der. At  his  side  kneels  a  boy  about  five  years  old.  Opposite 
to  him  is  the  duchess,  Beatrice  d'Este,  also  kneeling ;  and  near 
her  a  little  baby  in  swaddling  clothes,  holding  up  its  tiny 
hands  in  supplication,  kneels  on  a  cushion.  The  age  of  the 
children  shows  the  picture  to  have  been  painted  about  1496. 
The  fate  of  Ludovico  il  Moro  is  well  known :  perhaps  the 
blessed  Virgin  deemed  a  traitor  and  an  assassin  unworthy  of 
her  protection.  He  died  in  the  frightful  prison  of  Loches 
after  twelve  years  of  captivity  ;  and  both  his  sons,  Maximilian 
and  Francesco,  were  unfortunate.  With  them  the  family  of 
Sforza  and  the  independence  of  Milan  were  extinguished  to- 
gether in  1535. 

3.  Another  celebrated  and  most  precious  picture  of  this 
class  is  the  Virgin  of  the  Meyer  family,  painted  by  Holbein2 
for  the  burgomaster  Jacob  Meyer  of  Basle.3  (Dresden  Gallery.) 
According  to  a  family  tradition,  the  youngest  son  of  the  bur- 
gomaster was  sick  even  to  death,  and,  through  the  merciful 
intercession  of  the  Virgin,  was  restored  to  his  parents,  who,  in 
gratitude,  dedicated  this  offering.  She  stands  on  a  pedestal  in 
a  richly  ornamented  niche  ;  over  her  long  fair  hair,  which  falls 
down  her  shoulders  to  her  waist,  she  wears  a  superb  crown  ; 
and  her  robe  of  a  dark  greenish  blue  is  confined  by  a  crimson 
girdle.  In  purity,  dignity,  humility,  and  intellectual  grace, 
this  exquisite  Madonna  has  never  been  surpassed,  not  even  by 
Raphael ;  the  face,  once  seen,  haunts  the  memory.  The  child 
in  her  arms  is  generally  supposed  to  be  the  infant  Christ.  I 
have  fancied,  as  I  look  on  the  picture,  that  it  may  be  the  poor 
sick  child  recommended  to  her  mercy,  for  the  face  is  very 
pathetic,  the  limbs  nol    merely  delicate  but  attenuated,  while, 

1  [Catalogued  to  Bernardino  dei  Conti.] 

2  [Art  critics  arc  now  of  the  opinion  that  the  Dresden  picture  is  a  cony  of 
the  original  painting  by  Holbein  in  the  Grand  Ducal  Palace,  Darmstadt.] 

8  The  engraving  by  Steiule  is  justly  celebrated. 


158  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

on  comparing  it  with  the  robust  child  who  stands  below,  the 
resemblance  and  the  contrast  are  both  striking.  To  the  right 
of  the  Virgin  kneels  the  burgomaster  Meyer  with  two  of  his 
sons,  one  of  whom  holds  the  little  brother  who  is  restored  to 
health,  and  seems  to  present  him  to  the  people.  On  the  left 
kneel  three  females  —  the  mother,  the  grandmother,  and  one 
daughter.  All  these  are  portraits,  touched  with  that  homely, 
vigorous  truth,  and  finished  with  that  consummate  delicacy, 
which  characterized  Holbein  in  his  happiest  efforts ;  and,  with 
their  earnest  but  rather  ugly  and  earthly  faces,  contrasting 
with  the  divinely  compassionate  and  refined  being  who  looks 
down  on  them  with  an  air  so  human,  so  maternal,  and  yet  so 
unearthly. 

Sometimes  it  is  a  single  votary  who  kneels  before  the  Ma- 
donna. In  the  old  times  he  expressed  his  humility  by  placing 
himself  in  a  corner  ami  making  himself  so  diminutive  as  to 
be  scarce  visible ;  afterwards,  the  head  of  the  votary  or  donor 
is  seen  life  size,  with  hands  joined  in  prayer,  just  above  the 
margin  at  the  foot  of  the  throne,  care  being  taken  to  remove 
him  from  all  juxtaposition  with  the  attendant  saints.  But 
as  the  religious  feeling  in  Art  declined,  the  living  votaries  are 
mingled  with  the  spiritual  patrons  —  the  "  human  mortals  " 
with  the  "human  immortals"  —  with  a  disregard  to  time  and 
place  which,  if  it  be  not  so  lowly  in  spirit,  can  be  rendered 
by  a  great  artist  strikingly  poetical  and  significant. 

1.  The  renowned  '' Madonna  di  Foligno,"  one  of  Raphael's 
masterpieces,  is  a  votive  picture  of  this  class.  It  was  dedi- 
cated by  Sigismund  Conti  of  Foligno,  private  secretary  to 
Pope  Julius  II.,  and  a  distinguished  man  in  other  respects,  a 
writer  and  a  patron  of  learning.  It  appears  that  Sigismund, 
having  been  in  great  danger  from  a  meteor  or  thunderbolt, 
vowed  an  offering  to  the  blessed  Virgin,  to  whom  he  attributed 
his  safety,  and  in  fulfilment  of  his  vow  consecrated  this  precious 
picture.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  composition  sits  the  Virgin 
in  heavenly  glory  ;  by  her  side  the  infant  Christ,  partly  sus- 
tained by  his  mother's  veil,  which  is  drawn  round  his  body ; 
both  look  down  benignly  on  the  votary  Sigisnumd  Conti,  who, 
kneeling  below,  gazes  up  with  an  expression  of  the  most  intense 
gratitude  and  devotion.  It  is  a  portrait  from  the  life,  and 
certainly  one  of  the  finest  and  most  lifelike  that  exist  in  paint- 


M  I.N  ER     M  \l  iOXNA  (  H( 


THE   VIRGIN    AND   CHILD    ENTHRONED  159 

ing.  Behind  him  stands  St.  Jerome,  who,  placing  his  hand 
upon  the  head  of  the  votary,  seems  to  present  him  to  his 
celestial  protectress.  On  the  opposite  side  John  the  Bap- 
tist, the  meagre  wild-looking  prophet  of  the  desert,  points 
upward  to  the  Redeemer.  More  in  front  kneels  St.  Francis, 
who,  while  he  looks  up  to  heaven  with  trusting  and  imploring 
love,  extends  his  right  hand  towards  the  worshippers  supposed 
to  he  assemhled  in  the  church,  recommending  them  also  to  the 
protecting  grace  of  the  Virgin.  In  the  centre  of  the  picture, 
dividing  these  two  groups,  stands  a  lovely  angel-hoy  holding 
in  his  hand  a  tablet,  one  of  the  most  charming  figures  of  this 
kind  Raphael  ever  painted  ;  the  head,  looking  up,  has  that  sub- 
lime yet  perfectly  childish  grace  which  strikes  us  in  those  awful 
angel-boys  in  the  "  Madonna  di  San  Sisto."  The  background 
is  a  landscape,  in  which  appears  the  city  of  Foligno  at  a  dis- 
tance ;  it  is  overshadowed  by  a  storm-cloud,  and  a  meteor  is 
seen  falling ;  but  above  these  bends  a  rainbow,  pledge  of  peace 
and  safety.  The  whole  picture  glows  throughout  with  life 
and  beauty,  hallowed  by  that  profound  religious  sentiment 
which  suggested  the  offering,  and  which  the  sympathetic  artist 
seems  to  have  caught  from  the  grateful  donor.  It  was  dedi- 
cated in  the  church  of  the  Ara-Coeli  at  Rome,  which  belongs 
to  the  San  Franciscans ;  hence  St.  Francis  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal figures.  When  I  was  asked,  at  Rome,  why  St.  Jerome 
had  been  introduced  into  the  picture,  I  thought  it  might  be 
thus  accounted  for :  The  patron  saint  of  the  donor,  St.  Sigis- 
mund,  was  a  king  and  a  warrior,  and  Conti  might  possibly 
think  that  it  did  not  accord  with  his  profession,  as  an  humble 
ecclesiastic,  to  introduce  him  here.  The  most  celebrated  con- 
vent of  the  Jeronymites  in  Italy  is  that  of  St.  Sigismund  near 
Cremona,  placed  under  the  special  protection  of  St.  Jerome, 
who  is  also  in  a  general  sense  the  patron  of  all  ecclesiastics; 
hence,  perhaps,  he  figures  here  as  the  protector  of  Sigismund 
Conti.  The  picture  was  painted,  and  placed  over  the  high 
altar  of  the  Ara-Coeli  in  1511,  when  Raphael  was  in  his  twenty- 
eighth  year.  Conti  died  in  loll',  and  in  1565  his  grand- 
niece,  Suora  Anna  Conti,  obtained  permission  to  remove  it 
to  her  convent  at  Foligno,  whence  it  was  carried  off  by  the 
French  in  171)2.  Since  the  restoration  of  the  works  of  Art 
in  Italy,  in  1815,  it  has  been  placed  among  the  treasures  of 
the  Vatican. 


160  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

2.  Another  perfect  specimen  of  a  votive  picture  of  this  kind, 
in  a  very  different  style,  I  saw  in  the  Museum  at  Rouen,  at- 
tributed there  to  Van  Eyck.  It  is,  probably,  a  fine  work  by 
a  later  master  of  the  school,  perhaps  Memling.  In  the  centre, 
the  Virgin  is  enthroned ;  the  Child,  seated  on  her  knee,  holds 
a  bunch  of  grapes,  symbol  of  the  eucharist.  On  the  right  of 
the  Virgin  is  St.  Apollonia ;  then  two  lovely  angels  in  white 
raiment,  with  lutes  in  their  hands  ;  and  then  a  female  head, 
seen  looking  from  behind,  evidently  a  family  portrait.  More 
in  front,  St.  Agnes,  splendidly  dressed  in  green  and  sable,  her 
lamb  at  her  feet,  turns  with  a  questioning  air  to  St.  Catherine, 
who,  in  queenly  garb  of  crimson  and  ermine,  seems  to  consult 
her  book.  Behind  her  another  member  of  the  family,  a  man 
with  a  very  fine  face ;  and  more  in  front  St.  Dorothea,  with  a 
charming  expression  of  modesty,  looks  down  on  her  basket  of 
roses.  On  the  left  of  the  Virgin  is  St.  Agatha ;  then  two 
angels  in  white  with  viols ;  then  St.  Cecilia,  and  near  her  a 
female  head,  another  family  portrait ;  next,  St.  Barbara  wear- 
ing a  beautiful  headdress,  in  front  of  which  is  worked  her 
tower,  framed  like  an  ornamental  jewel  in  gold  and  pearls  ; 
she  has  a  missal  in  her  lap.  St.  Lucia  next  appears ;  then 
another  female  portrait.  All  the  heads  are  about  one  fourth 
of  the  size  of  life.  I  stood  in  admiration  before  this  picture 
—  such  miraculous  finish  in  all  the  details,  such  life,  such 
spirit,  such  delicacy  in  the  heads  and  hands,  such  brilliant 
color  in  the  draperies !  Of  its  history  I  could  learn  nothing, 
nor  what  family  had  thus  introduced  themselves  into  celestial 
companionship.  The  portraits  seemed  to  me  to  represent  a 
father,  a  mother,  and  two  daughters. 

I  must  mention  some  other  instances  of  votive  Madonnas, 
interesting  either  from  their  beauty  or  their  singularity. 

3.  Rene,  duke  of  Anjou,  and  king  of  Sicily  and  Jerusalem, 
the  father  of  our  Amazonian  queen,  Margaret  of  Anjou,  dedi- 
cated, in  the  church  of  the  Carmelites,  at  Aix,  the  capital  of 
his  dominions,  a  votive  picture,  which  is  still  to  be  seen  there. 
It  is  not  only  a  monument  of  his  piety,  but  of  his  skill;  for, 
according  to  the  tradition  of  the  country,  he  painted  it  himself. 
The  good  King  Rene  was  no  contemptible  artist,  but  though 
he  may  have  suggested  the  subject,  the  hand  of  a  practiced 
and  accomplished  painter  is  too  apparent  for  us  to  suppose  it 
his  own  work. 


THE    VIRGIN   AND   CHILD   ENTHRONED  161 

This  altar-piece  is  a  triptychon,  and  when  the  doors  are 
closed  it  measures  twelve  feet  in  height,  and  seven  feet  in 
width.  On  the  outside  of  the  doors  is  the  Annunciation  :  to 
the  left,  the  angel  standing  on  a  pedestal,  under  a  Gothic 
canopy  ;  to  the  right,  the  Virgin  standing  with  her  hook,  under 
a  similar  canopy  :  both  graceful  figures.  On  opening  the  doors, 
the  central  compartment  exhibits  the  Virgin  and  her  Child 
enthroned  in  a  burning  bush  ;  the  bush  which  burned  with 
fire,  and  was  not  consumed,  being  a  favorite  type  of  the  im- 
maculate purity  of  the  Virgin.  Lower  down,  in  front,  Moses 
appears  surrounded  by  his  flocks,  and  at  the  command  of  an 
angel  is  about  to  take  off  his  sandals.  The  angel  is  most 
richly  dressed,  and  on  the  clasp  of  his  mantle  is  painted  in 
miniature  Adam  and  Eve  tempted  by  the  serpent.  Under- 
neath this  compartment  is  the  inscription,  "  Rubum  quern 
viderat  Moyses,  incombustum,  conservatam  agnovimus  tuam 
laudabilem  Virginitatem,  Sancta  Dei  Genitrix." 1  On  the 
door  to  the  right  of  the  Virgin  kneels  King  Rend  himself  before 
an  altar,  on  which  lie  an  open  book  and  his  kingly  crown. 
He  is  dressed  in  a  robe  trimmed  with  ermine,  and  wears  a 
black  velvet  cap.  Behind  him,  Mary  Magdalene  (the  patroness 
of  Provence),  St.  Anthony,  and  St.  Maurice.  On  the  other 
door,  Jeanne  de  Laval,  the  second  wife  of  Rene',  kneels  before 
an  open  book ;  she  is  young  and  beautiful,  and  richly  attired ; 
and  behind  her  stand  St.  John  (her  patron  saint),  St.  Cath- 
erine (very  noble  and  elegant),  and  St.  Nicholas.  I  saw  this 
curious  and  interesting  picture  in  1846.  It  is  very  well  pre- 
served, and  painted  with  great  finish  and  delicacy  in  the  man- 
ner of  the  early  Flemish  school. 

4.  In  a  beautiful  little  picture  by  Van  Eyck,  in  the  Louvre, 
the  Virgin  is  seated  on  a  throne,  holding  in  her  arms  the  in- 
fant Christ,  who  lias  a  globe  in  his  left  band,  and  extends  the 
right  in  the  act  of  benediction.  The  Virgin  is  attired  as  a 
queen,  in  a  magnificent  robe  falling  in  ample  folds  around  her, 
and  trimmed  with  jewels;  an  angel,  hovering  with  outspread 
wings,  holds  a  crown  over  her  head.  On  the  left  of  the  pic- 
ture, a  votary,  in  the  dress  of  a  Flemish  burgomaster,  kneels 
before  a  priedieu,  on  which  is  an  open  book,  and  with  clasped 
hands  adores  the  Mother  and  the  Child.  The  locality  repre- 
sents a  gallery  or  portico  paved  with  marble,  and  sustained  by 

1  For  the  relation  of  Moses  to  the  Virgin  (as  attribute)  vide  the  Introduction. 


162  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

pillars  in  a  fantastic  Moorish  style.  The  whole  picture  is  quite 
exquisite  for  the  delicacy  of  color  and  execution.  In  the  [old] 
catalogue  of  the  Louvre  this  picture  [was]  entitled  "  St.  Joseph 
adoring  the  Infant  Christ ;  "  [but  in  the  edition  of  1889  (by 
F.  Villot)  it  is  correctly  entered  as  La  Yierge  au  Donateur]. 

5.  All  who  have  visited  the  church  of  the  Frari  at  Venice 
will  remember  —  for  once  seen,  they  never  can  forget — the 
ex-voto  altar-piece  which  adorns  the  chapel  of  the  Pesaro 
family.  The  beautiful  Virgin  is  seated  on  a  lofty  throne  to 
the  right  of  the  picture,  and  presses  to  her  bosom  the  Dio 
Bambinetto,  who  turns  from  her  to  bless  the  votary  presented 
by  St.  Peter.  The  saint  stands  on  the  steps  of  the  throne, 
one  hand  on  a  book  ;  and  behind  him  kneels  one  of  the  Pesaro 
family,  who  was  at  once  bishop  of  Paphos  and  commander  of 
the  Pope's  galleys  :  he  approaches  to  consecrate  to  the  Ma- 
donna the  standards  taken  from  the  Turks,  which  are  borne  bv 
St.  George,  as  patron  of  Venice.  On  the  other  side  appear 
St.  Francis  and  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  as  patrons  of  the  church 
in  which  the  picture  is  dedicated.  Lower  down,  kneeling 
on  one  side  of  the  throne,  is  a  group  of  various  members 
of  the  Pesaro  family,  three  of  whom  are  habited  in  crimson 
robes,  as  Cavalieri  di  San  Marco  ;  the  other,  a  youth  about 
fifteen,  looks  out  of  the  picture,  astonishingly  alive,  and  yet 
sufficiently  idealized  to  harmonize  with  the  rest.  This  picture 
is  very  remarkable  for  several  reasons.  It  is  a  piece  of  family 
history,  curiously  illustrative  of  the  manners  of  the  time. 
The  Pesaro  here  commemorated  was  an  ecclesiastic,  but  ap- 
pointed by  Alexander  VI.  to  command  the  galleys  with  which 
he  joined  the  Venetian  forces  against  the  Turks  in  1503.  It 
is  for  this  reason  that  St.  Peter  —  as  representative  here  of  the 
Roman  pontiff  —  introduces  him  to  the  Madonna,  while  St. 
George,  as  patron  of  Venice,  attends  him.  The  picture  is  a 
monument  of  the  victory  gained  by  Pesaro,  and  the  gratitude 
and  pride  of  his  family.  It  is  also  one  of  the  finest  works  of 
Titian  ;  one  of  the  earliest  instances  in  which  a  really  grand 
religious  composition  assumes  almost  a  dramatic  and  scenic 
form,  yet  retains  a  certain  dignity  and  symmetry  worthy  of  its 
solemn  destination.1 

1  We  find  in  the  catalogue  of  pictures  which  belonged  to  our  Charles  I.  one 
[also  by  Titian]  which  represented  "a  pope  preferring  a  general  of  his  navy  to 
St.  Peter."     It  is  Pope  Alexander  VI.  presenting  this  very  Pesaro  to  St.  Peter; 


THE    VIRGIN   AND   CHILD    ENTHRONED  103 

6.  I  will  give  one  more  instance.  There  is  in  our  National 
Gallery  a  Venetian  picture  which  is  striking  from  its  peculiar 
and  characteristic  treatment.  On  one  side,  the  Virgin  with  her 
Infant  is  seated  on  a  throne ;  a  cavalier,  wearing  armor  and  a 
turban,  who  looks  as  if  he  had  just  returned  from  the  Eastern 
wars,  prostrates  himself  before  her  :  in  the  background,  a  page 
(said  to  be  the  portrait  of  the  painter)  holds  the  horse  of  the 
votary.  The  figures  are  life  size,  or  nearly  so,  as  well  as  I  can 
remember,  and  the  sentimental  dramatic  treatment  is  quite  Ve- 
netian. It  is  supposed  to  represent  a  certain  Duccio  Constanzo 
of  Treviso,  and  was  once  attributed  to  Giorgione  :  it  is  cer- 
tainly of  the  school  of  Bellini.  [The  National  Gallery  offi- 
cial catalogue  of  1894  classifies  the  picture  under  the  "  school 
of  Giovanni  Bellini,"  adding  the  note  that  some  attribute  it  to 
Vincenzo  Catena.] 

As  these  enthroned  and  votive  Virgins  multiplied,  as  it  be- 
came more  and  more  a  fashion  to  dedicate  them  as  offerings  in 
churches,  want  of  space,  and  perhaps,  also,  regard  to  expense, 
suggested  the  idea  of  representing  the  figures  half  length. 
The  Venetians,  from  early  time  the  best  face-painters  in  the 
world,  appear  to  have  been  the  first  to  cut  off  the  lower  part 
of  the  figure,  leaving  the  arrangement  otherwise  much  the 
same.  The  Virgin  is  still  a  queenly  and  majestic  creature,  sit- 
ting there  to  be  adored.  A  curtain  or  part  of  a  carved  chair 
represents  her  throne.  The  attendant  saints  are  placed  to  the 
right  and  to  the  left ;  or  sometimes  the  throne  occupies  one 
side  of  the  picture,  and  the  saints  are  ranged  on  the  other.  From 
the  shape  and  diminished  size  of  these  votive  pictures,  the  per- 
sonages, seen  half  length,  are  necessarily  placed  very  near  to  each 
other,  and  the  heads  nearly  on  a  level  with  that  of  the  Virgin, 
who  is  generally  seen  to  the  knees,  while  the  Child  is  always 
full  length.  In  such  compositions  we  miss  the  grandeur  of  the 
entire  forms,  and  the  consequent  diversity  of  character  and 
attitude ;  but  sometimes  the  beauty  and  individuality  of  the 
heads  atone  for  all  other  deficiencies. 

In  the  earlier  Venetian  examples,  those  of  Gian  Bellini  par- 

that  is,  in  plain  unpictorial  prose,  giving  him  the  appointment  of  admiral  of  t lie 
galleya  of  the  Roman  states.  This  interesting  picture,  after  many  vicissitudes, 
is  now  in  the  Museum  at  Antwerp. 


164  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

ticularly,  there  is  a  solemn  quiet  elevation  which  renders  them 
little  inferior,  in  religious  sentiment,  to  the  most  majestic  of 
the  enthroned  and  enskied  Madonnas. 

There  is  a  sacred  group  by  Bellini,  [once]  in  the  possession 
of  Sir  Charles  Eastlake,  which  has  always  appeared  to  me  a 
very  perfect  specimen  of  this  class  of  pictures.  It  is  also  the 
earliest  I  know  of.  The  Virgin,  pensive,  sedate,  and  sweet, 
like  all  Bellini's  Virgins,  is  seated  in  the  centre,  and  seen  in 
front.  The  Child,  on  her  knee,  blesses  with  his  right  hand, 
and  the  Virgin  places  hers  on  the  head  of  a  votary,  who  just 
appears  above  the  edge  of  the  picture,  with  hands  joined  in 
prayer ;  he  is  a  fine  young  man  with  an  elevated  and  elegant 
profile.  On  the  right  are  St.  John  the  Baptist  pointing  to  the 
Saviour,  and  St.  Catherine ;  on  the  left,  St.  George  with  his 
banner,  and  St.  Peter  holding  his  book.  [The  picture  was 
sold  out  of  the  Eastlake  collection  in  1894,  and  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  the  Hon.  C.  Seale-Hayne,  Eaton  Square,  London.] 
A  similar  picture,  with  Mary  Magdalene  and  St.  Jerome  on 
the  right,  St.  Peter  and  St.  Martha  on  the  left,  is  in  the  Leuch- 
tenberg  Gallery  at  Munich.  Another  of  exquisite  beauty  is  in 
the  Venice  Academy,  in  which  the  lovely  St.  Catherine  wears 
a  crown  of  myrtle. 

Once  introduced,  these  half-length  enthroned  Madonnas  be- 
came very  common,  spreading  from  the  Venetian  states  through 
the  north  of  Italy  ;  and  Ave  find  innumerable  examples  from 
the  best  schools  of  Art  in  Italy  and  Germany,  from  the  middle 
of  the  fifteenth  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  I 
shall  particularize  a  few  of  these,  which  will  be  sufficient  to 
guide  the  attention  of  the  observer  ;  and  we  must  carefully 
discriminate  between  the  sentiment  proper  to  these  half-length 
enthroned  Madonnas,  and  the  pastoral  or  domestic  sacred  groups 
and  Holy  Families,  of  which  I  shall  have  to  treat  hereafter. 

Raphael's  well-known  Madonna  della  Seggiola  (Pitti,  Flor- 
ence) and  Madonna  della  Candelabra  [Munro  -  Butler  -  John- 
stone collection,  London]  1  are  both  enthroned  Virgins  in  the 
grand  style,  though  seen  half  length.  In  fact,  the  hair  of  the 
head  ought,  in  the  higher  schools  of  Art,  at  once  to  distinguish  a 
Madonna  in  trono,  even  where  only  the  head  is  visible. 

1  [This  Madonna  is  included  in  the  list  of  those  works  whose  execution  in  the 
opinion  of  Miintz  shows  the  hand  of  a  pupil.] 


MADONNA    OF   THE    INK-HORN  (Botticblli) 


THE   VIRGIN   AND   CHILD    ENTHRONED  16o 

The  Child,  standing  or  seated  on  a  table  or  balustrade  in 
front,  enabled  the  painter  to  vary  the  attitude,  to  take  the  in- 
fant Christ  out  of  the  arms  of  the  Mother,  and  to  render  his 
figure  more  prominent.  It  was  a  favorite  arrangement  with 
the  Venetians  ;  and  there  is  an  instance  in  a  pretty  picture  in 
our  National  Gallery,  attributed  to  Perugino. 

Sometimes,  even  where  the  throne  and  the  attendant  saints 
and  angels  show  the  group  to  be  wholly  devotional  and  ex- 
alted, we  find  the  sentiment  varied  by  a  touch  of  the  dramatic 
—  by  the  introduction  of  an  action  ;  but  it  must  be  one  of  a 
wholly  religious  significance  suggestive  of  a  religious  feeling, 
or  the  subject  ceases  to  be  properly  devotional  in  character. 

The  illustration  is  from  a  picture  by  Botticelli,  before  which, 
in  walking  up  the  corridor  of  the  Florence  Gallery,  I  used, 
day  after  day,  to  make  an  involuntary  pause  of  admiration. 
The  Virgin,  seated  in  a  chair  of  state,  but  seen  only  to  the 
knees,  sustains  her  divine  Son  with  one  arm  ;  four  angels  are 
in  attendance,  one  of  whom  presents  an  inkhorn,  another  holds 
before  her  an  open  book,  and  she  is  in  the  act  of  writing  the 
Magnificat,  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord  !  "  The  head 
of  the  figure  behind  the  Virgin  is  the  portrait  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici  when  a  boy.  In  the  original  picture  by  Botticelli 
there  is  absolutely  no  beauty  of  feature,  either  in  the  Madonna 
or  the  Child  or  the  angels,  yet  every  face  is  full  of  dignity 
and  character. 

In  a  beautiful  picture  by  Titian,  in  the  Belvedere  at  Vienna, 
the  Virgin  is  enthroned  on  the  left,  and  on  the  right  appear  St. 
George  and  St.  Laurence  1  as  listening,  while  St.  Jerome  reads 
from  his  great  book. 

A  family  group  is  sometimes  treated  in  this  grand  style,  but 
the  symmetry  of  the  arrangement  and  the  sentiment  show  the 
picture  to  be  devotional. 

The  old  German  and  Flemish  painters,  in  treating  the  en- 
throned Madonna,  sometimes  introduced  accessories  which  no 
painter  of  the  early  Italian  school  would  have  descended  to; 
and  which  tinge  with  a  holy  sentiment  their  most  exalted 
conceptions.      Thus,  I  have  seen,  in  the  Belvedere  Gallery  at 

i  [Crowe  and  Cavalcasellc  tall  this  figure  St.  Stephen.  A  similar  painting  in 
the  Louvre  represents  the  Virgin  and  Child  with  St.  Stephen,  St.  Ambrose,  and 
St  .Maurice.] 


X66  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

Vienna,  a  German  Madonna,  seated  on  a  superb  throne,  and  most 
elaborately  and  gorgeously  arrayed,  pressing  her  Child  to  her 
bosom  with  a  truly  maternal  air  ;  while  beside  her,  on  a  table, 
are  a  honeycomb,  some  butter,  a  dish  of  fruit,  and  a  glass  of 
water.  It  is  possible  that  in  this  case,  as  in  the  Virgin  suck- 
ling her  Child,  there  may  be  a  religious  allusion,  —  "  Butter 
and  honey  shall  he  eat."  [Compare  the  Madonna  by  Quentin 
Massys  in  Berlin.] 

The  Mater  Amabilis 

Ital.  La  Madonna  col  Bambino.  La  Madonna  col  celeste  suo 
Figlio.  Fr.  La  Vierge  et  l'Enfant  Jesus.  Ger.  Maria  mit  dem 
Kind. 

There  is  yet  another  treatment  of  the  Madonna  and  Child, 
in  which  the  Virgin  no  longer  retains  the  lofty  goddess-like 
exaltation  given  to  her  in  the  old  time.  She  is  brought  nearer 
to  our  sympathies.  She  is  not  seated  in  a  chair  of  state  with 
the  accompaniments  of  earthly  power ;  she  is  not  enthroned  on 
clouds,  nor  glorified  and  star-crowned  in  heaven;  she  is  no 
longer  so  exclusively  the  Vergine  Dea,  nor  the  Virgo  Dei 
Genitrix  ;  but  she  is  still  the  Alma  Mater  Redemptoris, 
the  young,  and  lovely,  and  most  pure  mother  of  a  divine 
Christ.  She  is  not  sustained  in  mid-air  by  angels  ;  she  dwells 
lowly  on  earth  ;  but  the  angels  leave  their  celestial  home  to 
wait  upon  her.  Such  effigies,  when  conceived  in  a  strictly 
ideal  and  devotional  sense,  I  shall  designate  as  the  Mater 
Amabilis. 

The  first  and  simplest  form  of  this  beautiful  and  familiar 
subject  we  find  in  those  innumerable  half-length  figures  of 
the  Madonna  holding  her  Child  in  her  arms,  painted  chiefly 
for  oratories,  private  or  wayside  chapels,  and  for  the  studies, 
libraries,  and  retired  chambers  of  the  devout,  as  an  excitement 
to  religious  feeling,  and  a  memorial  of  the  mystery  of  the 
Incarnation,  where  large  or  grander  subjects,  or  more  expen- 
sive pictures,  -would  be  misplaced.  Though  unimportant  in 
comparison  with  the  comprehensive  and  magnificent  church 
altar-pieces  already  described,  there  is  no  class  of  pictures  so 
popular  and  so  attractive,  none  on  which  the  character  of  the 
time  and  the  painter  is  stamped  more  clearly  and  intelligibly, 
than  on  these  simple  representations. 

The  Virgin  is  not  here  the  dispenser  of  mercy  ;   she  is  sim- 


THE   MATER   AMABILIS 


167 


Greco-Italian  Madonna 


ply  the  mother  of  the 
Redeemer.  She  is  oc- 
cupied only  hy  her  di- 
vine Son.  She  caresses 
him,  or  she  gazes  on 
him  fondly.  She  pre- 
sents him  to  the  wor- 
shipper. She  holds  him 
forth  with  a  pensive  joy 
as  the  predestined  offer- 
ing. If  the  profound 
religious  sentiment  of 
the  early  masters  was 
afterwards  obliterated 
by  the  unbelief  and 
conventionalism  of  later 
Art,  still  this  favorite 
subject  could  not  be  so 
wholly  profaned  by  de- 
grading sentiments  and 
associations  as  the  mere 

portrait  heads  of  the  Virgin  alone.  No  matter  what  the  model 
for  the  Madonna  might  have  been,  — a  wife,  a  mistress,  a  conta- 
(Una  of  Frascati,  a  Venetian  Zitella,  a  Madchen  of  Nuremberg, 
a  buxom  Flemish  Frow,  — for  the  Child  was  there  ;  the  baby 
innocence  in  her  arms  consecrated  her  into  that  "  holiest  thing 
alive,"  a  mother.  The  theme,  however  inadequately  treated 
as  regarded  its  religious  significance,  was  sanctified  in  itself 
beyond  the  reach  of  a  profane  thought.  Miserable  beyond 
the  reach  of  hope,  dark  below  despair,  that  moral  atmosphere 
which  the  presence  of  sinless  unconscious  infancy  cannot  for  a 
moment  purify  or  hallow  ! 

Among  the  most  ancient  and  most  venerable  of  the  effigies 
of  the  Madonna,  we  find  the  old  Greek  pictures  of  the  Mater 
A  null, His,  if  that  epithet  can  be  properly  applied  to  the 
dark-colored,  sad-visaged  Madonnas  generally  attributed  to  St. 
Luke,  or  transcripts  of  those  said  to  be  painted  by  him,  which 
exist  in  so  many  churches,  and  are,  or  were,  supposed  by  the 
people  to  possess  a  peculiar  sanctity.  These  are  almost  all  of 
oriental  origin,  or  painted  to  imitate  the  pictures  brought  from 
the  East  in  the   tenth   or   twelfth  century.    There   are  a  few 


168 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


striking  and  genuine  examples  of  these  ancient  Greek  Ma- 
donnas in  the  Florentine  Gallery,  and,  nearer  at  hand,  in  the 
Wallerstein  collection  at  Kensington  Palace.  They  much  re- 
semble each  other  in  the  general  treatment. 

[There  are  many]  renowned  Greek  pictures,  all  of  which 
have  the  credit  of  performing  stupendous  miracles,  and  claim 
a  fabulous  antiquity.  Yet  of  the  many  miracle-working  Ma- 
donnas in  Italy  popularly  attributed  to  St.  Luke,  few  are  either 
of  Greek  workmanship  or  very  ancient.  Thus  the  Virgin  of  the 
Ara-Cceli  is  undoubtedly  as  Greek,  and  old,  and  black,  and  ugly, 
as  sanctity  could  desire ;  while  the  rival  Madonna  in  Santa 
Maria-in-Cosmedino,  dark  as  it  is  in  color,  is  yet  most  lovely 
[see   below]  ;   both  Mother  and   Child  are  full  of  grace  and 

refined  expression  ;  but  though  an 
undoubted  "  original  St.  Luke," 
like  many  original  Raphaels  and 
Titians,  it  is  not  even  a  softened 
copy  of  a  Greek  model ;  the  sen- 
timent is  altogether  Italian,  as 
may  be  seen  in  this  sketch.  The 
sketch  on  p.  167  is  from  an  an- 
cient fresco  at  Perugia. 

The  infinite  variety  which 
painters  have  given  to  this  most 
simple  motif,  the  Mother  and 
the  Child  only,  without  accesso- 
ries or  accompaniments  of  any 
kind,  exceeds  all  possibility  of 
classification,  either  as  to  attitude 
or  sentiment.  Here  Raphael 
shone  supreme :  the  simplicity, 
the  tenderness,  the  halo  of  purity 
and  virginal  dignity,  which  he 
threw  round  the  Mater  Amabilis,  have  never  been  surpassed 
—  in  his  best  pictures  never  equalled.  The  "  Madonna  del 
Gran-Duca"  [Pitti,  Florence],  where  the  Virgin  holds  the 
Child  seated  on  her  arm  ;  the  "  Madonna  Tempi  "  [Munich], 
where  she  so  fondly  presses  her  cheek  to  his  —  are  perhaps 
the  most  remarkable  for  simplicity.  The  Madonna  of  the 
Bridgewater  Gallery,  where  the  infant  lies  on  her  knees,  and 
the   Mother  and   Son  look  into  each  other's  eyes ;  the   little 


Greco-Italian  Madonna 


THE    MATER   AMABILIS 


169 


"  Madonna  Conestabile "  [St.  Petersburg],  where  she  holds 
the  book,  and  the  infant  Christ,  with  a  serious  yet  perfectly 
childish  grace,  bends  to  turn  over  the  leaf  —  are  the  most  re- 
markable for  sentiment. 

Other  Madonnas  by  Raphael,  containing  three  or  more  fig- 
ures, do  not  belong  to  this  class  of  pictures.  They  are  not 
strictly  devotional,  but  are  properly  Holy  Families,  groups 
and  scenes  from  the  domestic  life  of  the  Virgin. 

With  regard  to  other  painters  before  or  since  his  time,  the 
examples  of  the  Hater  Amah'rfis  so  abound  in  public  and  pri- 
vate galleries,   and    have    been    so   multiplied    in  prints,  that 


Madonna  (Squarcione) 

comparison  is  within  reach  of  every  observer.  I  will  content 
myself  with  noticing  a  few  of  the  most  remarkable  for  beauty 
or  characteristic  treatment.  Two  painters,  who  eminently 
excelled  in  simplicity  and  purity  of  sentiment,  are  Grian 
Bellini  of  Venice,  and  Bernardino  Luini  of  Milan.  Squar- 
cione, though  often  fantastic,  has  painted  one  or  two  of  these 
Madonnas,1  remarkable  for  simplicity  and  dignity,  as  also  his 
pupil  Mantegna :  though  in  both  the  style  of  execution  is 
somewhat  hard  and  cold.      In  this,  by  Fra  Bartolommeo,  there 

l  [The  illustration  is  from  a  painting  by  Squarcione  in  the  Berlin  Gallery.] 


170 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


is  such  a  depth  of  maternal  tenderness  in  the  expression  and 
attitude,  we  wonder  where  the  good  monk  found  his  model. 
In  his  own  heart?  in  his  dreams?  A  Mater  Amu  hills  by- 
one  of  the  Caracci  or 
by  Vandyck  is  gener- 
ally more  elegant  and 
dignified  than  tender. 
Murillo  excelled  in  this 
subject ;  although  most 
of  his  Virgins  have  a 
portrait  air  of  common 
life,  they  are  redeemed 
by  the  expression.  In 
one  of  these,  the  Child, 
looking  out  of  the  pic- 
ture with  extended  arms 
and  eyes  full  of  divinity, 
seems  about  to  spring 
forth  to  fulfil  his  mis- 
sion. [Pitti,  Florence.] 
In  another  he  folds  his 
little  hands,  and  looks 
up  to  heaven,  as  if  de- 
voting himself  to  his  ap- 
pointed suffering,  while 
the  Mother  looks  down 
upon  him  with  a  tender 
resignation.1  In  a  noble  Madonna  by  Vandyck  (Bridgewater 
Gallery,  London),  it  is  she  herself  who  devotes  him  to  do  his 
Father's  will  ;  and  I  still  remember  a  picture  of  this  class, 
by  Carlo  Cignani  (Belvedere  Gallery,  Vienna),  which  made 
me  start,  with  the  intense  expression  :  the  Mother  presses  to 
her  the  Child,  who  holds  a  cross  in  his  baby  hand  ;  she  looks 
up  to  heaven  with  an  appealing  look  of  love  and  anguish  — 
almost  of  reproach.  Guido  did  not  excel  so  much  in  children 
as  in  the  Virgin  alone.  Poussin,  Carlo  Dolci,  Sassoferrato, 
and,  in  general,  all  the  painters  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
give  us  pretty  women  and  pretty  children.    We  may  pass  them 

1  [The  reference  is  to  a  painting  in  the  Leuchtenberg  Gallevy,  St.  Petersburg, 
which,  though  a  beautiful  picture,  is  not  considered  by  Curtis  the  work  of 
Murillo.] 


Madonna  (Bartolommeo) 


THE   MATER   AMABILIS 


171 


Madonna  (Albert  Durer) 

over.  [The  Mater  Amabilis  is  perhaps  the  most  common 
form  of  the  Madonna  seen  in  modern  Art.  Examples  of  wide 
popularity  are  by  Gabriel  Max  and  hy  Froschl.  These,  too, 
may  he  "  passed  over  "  as  having  little  or  nothing  in  common 
with  the  work  of  the  old  masters.] 

A  second  version  of  the  Mater  Amabilis,  representing  the 
Virgin  and   Child    full  length,    hut   without  accessories,   has 


172  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

been  also  very  beautifully  treated.  She  is  usually  seated 
in  a  landscape,  and  frequently  within  the  mystical  inclosure 
(Hortus  clausus),  which  is  sometimes  in  the  German  pictures 
a  mere  palisade  of  stakes  or  houghs,  as  in  the  example  after 
Albert  Dlirer. 

Andrea  Mantegna,  though  a  fantastic  painter,  had  generally 
some  meaning  in  his  fancies.      There  is  a  fine  picture  of  his  in 


Madonna  della  Seggiola  (Raphael) 

which  the  Virgin  and  Child  are  seated  in  a  landscape,  and  in 
the  background  is  a  stone  quarry,  where  a  number  of  figures 
are  seen  busily  at  work,  perhaps  hewing  the  stone  to  build  the 
new  temple  of  which  our  Saviour  was  the  corner-stone.  (Uffizi, 
Florence.)  In  a  group  by  Cristnfnuo  Allnri  the  Child  places 
a  wreath  of  flowers  on  the  brow  of  his  Mother,  holding  in  his 


THE   MATER   AMABILIS 


173 


other  hand  his  own  crown  of  thorns :  one  of  the  fancies  of 
the  later  schools  of  Art. 

[Two  modern  examples  of  the  Mater  Amahilis  in  a  landscape: 

1.  Carl  Midler :  The  Madonna  of  the  Grotto.  Tender  and 
simple,  characterized  by  the  strong  devotional  sentiment  of  the 
artist. 

2.  Dagnan-Bouveret.  The  Virgin  stands  under  the  over- 
arching trees  of  a  wooded  path,  clasping  her  child  in  her  arms. 
The  Babe's  face  is  turned  from  the  spectator.     Although  it  is 


Madonna  (Lucas  van  Lcyden) 


a  very  striking  picture,  there  is  nothing  about  the  Mother  or 
Child  to  suggest  the  divine  meaning  except  the  aureoles  sur- 
rounding the  heads.] 

The  introduction  of  the  little  St.  John  into  the  group  of  the 
Virgin  and  Child  lends  it  a  charming  significance  and  variety, 
and  is  very  popular;  we  must,  however,  discriminate  between 
the  familiarity  of  the  domestic  subject  and  the  purely  religious 
treatment,  When  the  Giovanni-no  adores  with  folded  hands, 
as  acknowledging  in  Christ  a  superior  power,  or  kisses  his  feet 
humbly,  or  points  to  him  exulting,  then  it  is  evident  that  wo 


174 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


Madonna  (Bellini) 


have  the  two  Children  in  their  spiritual  character,  the  Child, 
Priest  and  King,  and  the  Child,  Prophet. 

In  a  picture  by  Leonardo  da  Yinci,  the  Madonna,  serious 
and  beautiful,  without  either  crown  or  veil,  and  adorned  only 
by  her  long  fair  hair,  is  seated  on  a  rock.  On  one  side,  the 
little  Christ,  supported  in  the  arms  of  an  angel,  raises  his  hand 
in  benediction  ;  on  the  other  side,  the  young  St.  John,  pre- 
sented by  the  Virgin,  kneels  in  adoration.  [Called  the  Virgin 
of  the  Rocks.      In  the  National  Gallery.] 

Where  the  Children   are   merely  embracing   each  other,  or 


THE   MATER   AMABILIS  175 

sporting  at  the  feet  of  the  Virgin,  or  playing  with  the  cross, 
or  with  a  bird,  or  with  the  lamb,  or  with  flowers,  we  might 
call  the  treatment  domestic  or  poetical  ;  but  where  St.  John 
is  taking  the  cross  from  the  hand  of  Christ,  it  is  clear,  from 
the  perpetual  repetition  of  the  theme,  that  it  is  intended  to 
express  a  religious  allegory.  It  is  the  mission  of  St.  John  as 
Baptist   and   Prophet.      He  receives  the  symbol  of  faith  ere  he 


Madonna  of  the  Meadow  (Raphael) 

goes  forth  to  preach  and  to  convert ;  or,  as  it  has  been  inter- 
preted, he,  in  the  sense  used  by  our  Lord,  "takes  up  the  cross 
of  our  Lord.''  The  first  is,  I  think,  the  moaning  when  the 
cross  is  enwreathed  with  the  Eece  Agnus  Dei;  the  latter, 
when  it  is  a  simple  cross. 

In  Raphael's  "  Madonna  della  Famiglia  Alva,''  now  in  the 
Hermitage,  St.  Petersburg,1  and  in  his  Madonna  of  the  Vienna 
Gallery,  Christ  gives  the  cross  to  St.  John.  In  a  picture  of 
the  Leonardo  school  in  the  Louvre  we  have  the  same  action; 
and  again  in  a  graceful  group  by  Guido,  which,  in  the  engrav- 
ing, bear-  tin    iii  erijiiii.ii,  "Qui  mm  accipit  crucem  suam  non 

1  [Also  known  as  the  Madonna  della  Cftsa  Alba.] 


176  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

est  me  dignus  "    (Matt.  x.  38).      This,  of  course,  fixes  the 
signification. 

Another,  and,  as  I  think,  a  wholly  fanciful  interpretation, 
has  been  given  to  this  favorite  group  by  Tieck  and  by  Monckton 
Milnes.  The  Children  contend  for  the  cross.  The  little  St. 
John  begs  to  have  it. 

Give  me  the  cross,  I  pray  you,  dearest  Jesus ! 

Oh  if  you  knew  how  much  I  wished  to  have  it, 

You  would  not  hold  it  in  your  hand  so  tightly. 

Something  has  told  me,  something  in  my  breast  here, 

Which  I  am  sure  is  true,  that  if  you  keep  it, 

If  you  will  let  no  other  take  it  from  you, 

Terrible  things  I  cannot  bear  to  think  of 

Must  fall  upon  you.     Show  me  that  you  love  me: 

Am  I  not  here  to  be  your  little  servant, 

Follow  your  steps,  and  wait  upon  your  wishes  ? 

But  Christ  refuses  to  yield  the  terrible  plaything,  and  claims 
his  privilege  to  be  the  elder  "  in  the  heritage  of  pain." 

In  a  picture  by  Carlo  Maratti  I  think  this  action  is  evident. 
Christ  takes  the  cross,  and  St.  John  yields  it  with  reluctance. 

A  beautiful  version  of  the  Mater  Amabilis  is  the  Madre 
Pia,  where  the  Virgin  in  her  divine  Infant  acknowledges  and 
adores  the  Godhead.  We  must  be  careful  to  distinguish  this 
subject  from  the  Nativity,  for  it  is  common,  in  the  scene  of 
the  birth  of  the  Saviour  at  Bethlehem,  to  represent  the  Virgin 
adoring  her  new-born  Child.  The  presence  of  Joseph  —  the 
ruined  shed  or  manger  —  the  ox  and  ass  —  these  express  the 
event.  But  in  the  Madre  Pia  properly  so  called,  the  locality, 
and  the  accessories,  if  any,  are  purely  ideal  and  poetical,  and 
have  no  reference  to  time  or  place.  The  early  Florentines, 
particularly  Lorenzo  di  Credi,  excelled  in  this  charming  subject. 

There  is  an  example  [in  the  Pitti,  Florence,  attributed  to 
Filippino  Lippi]  which  appears  to  me  eminently  beautiful  and 
poetical.  Here  the  mystical  garden  is  formed  of  a  balustrade, 
beyond  which  is  seen  a  hedge  all  in  a  blush  with  roses.  The 
Virgin  kneels  in  the  midst,  and  adores  her  Infant,  who  has  (in 
the  original)  his  finger  on  his  lip  (Verbum  sum  /)  ;  an  angel 
scatters  rose-leaves  over  him,  while  the  little  St.  John  also 
kneels,  and  four  angels,  in  attitudes  of  adoration,  complete  the 
group. 

But  a  more  perfect  example  is  the  Madonna  by  Francia  in 


THE   MADRE    1'IA 


177 


Madonna  (Correggio) 

the  Munich  Gallery,  where  the  divine  Infant  lies  on  the  flow- 
ery turf,  and  the  Mother,  standing  before  him  and  looking 
down  on  him,  seems  on  the  point  of  sinking  on  her  knees  in  a 
transport  of  tenderness  and  devotion.  This,  to  my  feeling,  is 
one  of  the  most  perfect  pictures  in  the  world  ;  it  leaves  nothing 
to  be  desired.  With  all  the  simplicity  of  the  treatment  it  is 
strictly  devotional.  The  Mother  and  her  Child  are  placed 
within  the  mystical  garden  inclosed  in  a  treillage  of  roses, 
alone  with  each  other,  and  apart  from  all  earthly  associations, 
all  earthly  communion. 

The  beautiful  altar-piece  by  Perugino  in  our  National  Gal- 
lery is  properly  a  Madre  Pia  ;  the  Child  seated  on  a  cushion  is 
sustained  by  an  angel ;  the  mother  kneels  before  him. 


178 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


The  famous  Correggio  in  the  Uffizi,  Florence,  is  also  a  Madre 
Pia.  It  is  very  tender,  sweet,  and  maternal.  The  Child  lying 
on  part  of  his  mother's  bine  mantle,  so  arranged  that  while 
she  kneels  and  bends  over  him  she  cannot  change  her  attitude 
without  disturbing  him,  is  a  concetto  admired  by  critics  in  sen- 
timent and  Art ;  but  it  appears  to  me  very  inferior  and  com- 
monplace in  comparison  to  the  Francia  at  Munich. 


Madonna  (Filippo  Lippi) 

In  this  group  [by  Filippo  Lippi,  in  the  Uffizi,  Florence], 
angels  sustain  the  Infant,  while  the  Mother,  seated,  with  folded 
hands,  adores  him ;  and  in  a  favorite  composition  by  Guido  he 
sleeps. 

And,  lastly,  we  have  the  Mater  Amabilis  in  a  more  complex 
and  picturesque,  though  still  devotional,  form.     The  Virgin, 


THE   SACRA   CONVERSAZIONE  179 

seen  at  full  length,  reclines  on  a  verdant  bank,  or  is  seated 
under  a  tree.  She  is  not  alone  with  her  Child.  Holy  per- 
sonages, admitted  to  a  communion  with  her,  attend  around  her, 
rather  sympathizing  than  adoring.  The  love  of  varied  nature, 
the  love  of  life  under  all  its  aspects,  become  mingled  with  the 
religious  conception.  Instead  of.  carefully  avoiding  whatever 
may  remind  us  of  her  earthly  relationship,  the  members  of  her 
family  always  form  a  part  of  her  cortege.  This  pastoral  and 
dramatic  treatment  began  with  the  Venetian  and  Paduan 
schools,  and  extended  to  the  early  German  schools,  which 
were  allied  to  them  in  feeling,  though  contrasted  with  them  in 
form  and  execution. 

The  perpetual  introduction  of  St.  Joseph,  St.  Elizabeth,  and 
other  relatives  of  the  Virgin  (always  avoided  in  a  Madonna 
in  trono),  would  compose  what  is  called  a  Holy  Family,  but 
that  the  presence  of  sainted  personages  whose  existence  and 
history  belong  to  a  wholly  different  era — St.  Catherine,  St. 
George,  St.  Francis,  or  St.  Dominick  —  takes  the  composition 
out  of  the  merely  domestic  and  historical,  and  lifts  it  at  once 
into  the  ideal  and  devotional  line  of  Art.  Such  a  group  can- 
not well  be  styled  a  Sacra  Familia  ;  it  is  a  Sacra  Conversa- 
zione treated  in  the  pastoral  and  lyrical  rather  than  the  lofty 
epic  style. 

In  this  subject  the  Venetians,  who  first  introduced  it,1  excel 
all  other  painters.  There  is  no  example  by  Raphael.  The 
German  and  Flemish  painters  who  adopted  this  treatment  were 
often  coarse  and  familiar ;  the  later  Italians  became  flippant 
and  fantastic.  The  Venetians  alone  knew  how  to  combine  the 
truest  feeling  for  nature  with  a  sort  of  Elysian  grace. 

I  shall  give  a  few  examples. 

1.  In  a  picture  by  Titian,2  the  Virgin  is  seated  on  a  green 
bank  enamelled  with  flowers.  She  is  simply  dressed  like  a 
contadina,  in  a  crimson  tunic,  and  a  white  veil  half  shading 
her  fair  hair.  She  holds  in  her  arms  her  lovely  Infant,  who 
raises  his  little  hand  in  benediction.  St.  Catherine  kneels 
before  him  on  one  side  ;  on  the  other,  St.  Barbara.  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  not  as  a  child,  and  the  contemporary  of  ourSaviour3 

1  [Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle  consider  Palma  Vecchio  the  real  inventor  of  the 
large  Sacra  Conversazione.] 

-  [Woermann'B  I  H!»-J  Dresden  catalogue  contains  no  picture  of  this  descrip- 
tion attributed  to  Titian.] 


180 


DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 


but  in  likeness  of  an  Arcadian  shepherd,  kneels  with  his  cross 
and  his  lamb  —  the  Ecce  Agnus  Dei,  expressed,  not  in  words, 
but  in  form.  St.  George  stands  by  as  a  guardian  warrior. 
And  St.  Joseph,  leaning  on  his  stick  behind,  contemplates  the 
group  with  an  air  of  dignified  complacency.  (Dresden  Gal- 
lery.) 

2.  There  is  another  instance,  also  from  Titian.  In  a  most 
luxuriant  landscape  thick  with  embowering  trees,  and  the 
mountains  of  Cadore  in  the  background,  the  Virgin  is  seated 
on  a  verdant  bank  ;  St.  Catherine  has  thrown  herself  on  her 
knees,  and  stretches  out  her  arms  to  the  divine  Child  in  an 


Sacra  Conversazione  (Palma) 

ecstasy  of  adoration,  in  which  there  is  nothing  unseemly  or 
familiar.  At  a  distance  St.  John  the  Baptist  approaches  with 
his  lamb. 

3.  In  another  very  similar  group  [in  the  National  Gallery ; 
replica,  perhaps  by  C.  Vecelli,  in  the  Pitti,  Florence]  the  action 
of  St.  Catherine  is  rather  too  familar  —  it  is  that  of  an  elder 
sister  or  a  nurse  :  the  young  St.  John  kneels  in  worship. 

4.  Wonderfully  fine  is  a  picture  of  this  class  by  Palma,  now 
in  the  Dresden  Gallery.  The  noble,  serious,  sumptuous  loveli- 
ness of  the  Virgin ;  the  exquisite  Child,  so  -thoughtful,  yet  so 
infantine  ;  the  manly  beauty  of  the  St.  John ;    the  charming 


THE   SACRA   CONVERSAZIONE  181 

humility  of  the  St.  Catherine  as  she  presents  her  palm,  form 
one  of  the  most  perfect  groups  in  the  world.  Childhood,  mo- 
therhood, maidenhood,  manhood,  were  never,  I  think,  combined 
in  so  sweet  a  spirit  of  humanity.1 

o.  In  another  picture  by  Palma,  in  the  same  gallery,  we 
have  the  same  picturesque  arrangement  of  the  Virgin  and  Child, 
while  the  little  St.  John  adores  with  folded  hands,  and  St. 
Catherine  sits  by  in  tender  contemplation. 

This  Arcadian  sentiment  is  carried  as  far  as  could  well  be 
allowed  in  a  picture  by  Titian  in  the  Louvre,  known  as  the 
Vierge  au  Lupin.  The  Virgin  holds  a  white  rabbit,  towards 
which  the  infant  Christ,  in  the  arms  of  St.  Catherine,  eagerly 
stretches  his  hand.  In  a  picture  by  Paris  Bordone  it  is  car- 
ried, I  think,  too  far.  The  Virgin  reclines  under  a  tree  with 
a  book  in  her  hand  ;  opposite  to  her  sits  St.  Joseph  holding 
an  apple ;  between  them,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  as  a  bearded 
man,  holds  in  his  arms  the  infant  Christ,  who  caressingly  puts 
one  arm  round  his  neck,  and  with  the  other  clings  to  the  rough 
hairy  raiment  of  his  friend. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  these  Venetian  examples  St. 
Catherine,  the  beloved  protectress  of  Venice,  is  seldom  omitted. 
She  is  not  here  the  learned  princess  who  confounded  tyrants 
and  converted  philosophers,  but  a  bright-haired,  full-formed 
Venetian  maiden,  glowing  with  love  and  life,  yet  touched  with 
a  serious  grace,  inexpressibly  charming. 

St.  Dorothea  is  also  a  favorite  saint  in  these  sacred  pastorals. 
There  is  an  instance  [by  Titian]  in  which  she  is  seated  by  the 
Virgin  with  her  basket  of  fruits  and  flowers ;  and  St.  Jerome, 
no  longer  beating  his  breast  in  penance,  but  in  likeness  of  a 
fond  old  grandfather,  stretches  out  his  arms  to  the  Child. 
Much  finer  is  a  picture  [by  Bonifazio,  once]  in  the  possession 
of  Sir  Charles  Eastlake.2  The  lovely  Virgin  is  seated  under 
a  tree:  on  one  side  appears  the  angel  Raphael,  presenting 
Tobit ;  on  the  other,  St.  Dorothea,  kneeling,  holds  up  her 
basket  of  celestial  fruit,  gathered   for  her  in   Paradise.      (See 

1  When  I  was  at  Dresden,  in  1850,  I  found  Steinle,  so  celebrated  for  his 
engravings  of  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto  and  the  Holbein  Madonna,  employed 
on  this  picture;  and,  as  far  as  his  art  could  go,  transferring  t<>  his  copper  all  the 
fervor  and  the  morbidezza  of  the  original. 

2  [The  picture  was  sold  out  of  the  Eastlake  collection  in  1H'J4,  to  Messrs. 
Agnew  &  Sons.] 


182  DEVOTIONAL   SUBJECTS 

Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  p.  557,  for  the  beautiful  legend  of 
St.  Dorothea.) 

When  St.  Ursula,  with  her  standard,  appears  in  these  Ve- 
netian pastorals,  we  may  suppose  the  picture  to  have  been 
painted  for  the  famous  brotherhood  (Scuola  di  Sant'  Orsola) 
which  bears  her  name.  Thus,  in  a  charming  picture  by  Palma 
(Vienna,  Belvedere  Gallery),  she  appears  before  the  Virgin, 
accompanied  by  St.  Mark  as  protector  of  Venice.1 

Ex-voto  pictures  in  this  style  are  very  interesting,  and  the 
votary,  without  any  striking  impropriety,  makes  one  of  the 
Arcadian  group.  Very  appropriate,  too,  is  the  marriage  of  St. 
Catherine,  often  treated  in  this  poetical  style.  In  a  picture 
by  Titian,  the  family  of  the  Virgin  attend  the  mystical  rite, 
and  St.  Anna  places  the  hand  of  St.  Catherine  in  that  of  the 
Child. 

In  a  group  by  Signorelli,  Christ  appears  as  if  teaching  St. 
Catherine;  he  dictates,  and  she,  the  patroness  of  "divine 
philosophy,"  writes  down  his  words. 

When  the  later  painters  in  their  great  altar-pieces  imitated 
this  idyllic  treatment,  the  graceful  Venetian  conception  became 
in  their  hands  heavy,  mannered,  tasteless  —  and  sometimes 
worse.  The  monastic  saints  or  mitred  dignitaries,  introduced 
into  familiar  and  irreverent  communion  with  the  sacred  and 
ideal  personages,  in  spite  of  the  grand  scenery,  strike  us  as  at 
once  prosaic  and  fantastic:  "we  marvel  how  they  got  there." 
Parmigiano,  when  he  fled  from  the  sack  of  Rome  in  1527, 
painted  at  Bologna,  for  the  nuns  of  Santa  Margherita,  an  altar- 
piece  which  has  been  greatly  celebrated.  The  Madonna,  hold- 
ing her  Child,  is  seated  in  a  landscape,  under  a  tree,  and  turns 
her  head  to  the  Bishop  St.  Petronius,  protector  of  Bologna. 
St.  Margaret,  kneeling  and  attended  by  her  great  dragon,  places 
one  hand,  with  a  free  and  easy  air,  on  the  knee  of  the  Virgin, 
and  with  the  other  seems  to  be  about  to  chuck  the  infant 
Christ  under  the  chin.  In  a  large  picture  by  Giacomo  Francia, 
the  Virgin,  walking  in  a  flowery  meadow  with  the  infant  Christ 
and  St.  John,  and  attended  by  St.  Agnes  and  Mary  Magdalene, 
meets  St.  Francis  and  St.  Dominick  also,  apparently,  taking  a 
walk.  (Berlin  Gallery.)  And  again — the  Madonna  and  St. 
Elizabeth  meet  with   their  children   in   a  landscape,  while  St. 

1  [There  is  no  picture  of  this  description  attributed  to  Palma  in  the  Belvedere 
catalogue  of  18SJ4.] 


THE   MATER   AMABILIS  183 

Peter,  St.  Paul,  and  St.  Benedict  stand  behind  in  attitudes  of 
attention  and  admiration.  Now,  such  pictures  may  be  excel- 
lently well  painted,  greatly  praised  by  connoisseurs,  and  held 
in  "  so nuna  venerazwne"  but  they  are  offensive  as  regards 
the  religious  feeling,  and  are,  in  point  of  taste,  mannered,  fan- 
tastic, and  secular. 

Here  we  must  end  our  discourse  concerning  the  Virgin  and 
Child  as  a  devotional  subject.  Very  easily  and  delightfully  to 
the  writer,  perhaps  not  painfully  to  the  reader,  might  we  have 
gone  on  to  the  end  of  the  volume  ;  but  my  object  was  not  to 
exhaust  the  subject,  to  point  out  every  interesting  variety  of 
treatment,  but  to  lead  the  lover  of  Art,  wandering  through  a 
church  or  gallery,  to  new  sources  of  pleasure  ;  to  show  what 
infinite  shades  of  feeling  and  character  may  still  be  traced  in 
a  subject  which,  with  all  its  beauty  and  attractiveness,  might 
seem  to  have  lost  its  significant  interest,  and  become  trite  from 
endless  repetition  ;  to  lead  the  mind  to  some  perception  of  the 
intention  of  the  artist  in  his  work  —  under  what  aspect  he 
had  himself  contemplated  and  placed  before  the  worshipper 
the  image  of  the  Mother  of  Christ  —  whether  crowned  and 
enthroned  as  the  sovereign  lady  of  Christendom,  or  exalted  as 
the  glorious  empress  of  heaven  and  all  the  spiritual  world ;  or, 
bending  benignly  over  us,  the  impersonation  of  sympathizing 
womanhood,  the  emblem  of  relenting  love,  the  solace  of  suffer- 
ing humanity,  the  maid  and  mother,  dear  and  undefiled  — 

Created  beings  all  in  lowliness 
Surpassing,  as  in  height  above  them  all. 

It  is  time  to  change  the  scene  —  to  contemplate  the  Virgin, 
as  she  has  been  exhibited  to  us  in  the  relations  of  earthly  life, 
as  the  mere  woman,  acting  and  suffering,  loving,  living,  dying, 
fulfilling  the  highest  destinies  in  the  humblest  state,  in  the 
meekest  spirit.  So  we  begin  her  history  as  the  ancient  artists 
have  placed  it  before  us,  with  that  mingled  naivete  and  rever- 
ence, that  vivid  dramatic  power,  which  only  faith,  and  love, 
and  genius  united,  could  impart. 


III.   HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

PART  I.     THE    LIFE   OF   THE   VIRGIN   MARY   FROM 
HER   BIRTH   TO   HER  MARRIAGE   WITH  JOSEPH 

The  Legend  of  Joachim  and  Anna 

Ital.  La  Leggenda  di  Sant'  Anna  Madre  della  Gloriosa  Vergine 
Maria,  e  di  San  Gioacchino. 

Of  the  sources  whence  are  derived  the  popular  legends  of  the 
life  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  which,  mixed  up  with  the  few  notices 
in  Scripture,  formed  one  continuous  narrative,  authorized  hy 
the  priesthood,  and  accepted  and  believed  in  by  the  people,  I 
have  spoken  at  length  in  the  Introduction.  We  have  now  to 
consider  more  particularly  the  scenes  and  characters  associated 
with  her  history  ;  to  show  how  the  artists  of  the  middle  ages, 
under  the  guidance  and  by  the  authority  of  the  Church,  treated 
in  detail  these  favorite  themes  in  ecclesiastical  decoration. 

In  early  Art,  that  is,  up  to  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
Joachim  and  Anna,  the  parents  of  the  Virgin,  never  appear 
except  in  the  series  of  subjects  from  her  life.  In  the  devo- 
tional groups  and  altar-pieces  they  are  omitted.  St.  Bernard, 
the  great  theological  authority  of  those  times,  objects  to  the 
invocation  of  any  saints  who  had  lived  before  the  birth  of 
Christ,  consequently  to  their  introduction  into  ecclesiastical  edi- 
fices in  any  other  light  than  as  historical  personages.  Hence, 
perhaps,  there  were  scruples  relative  to  the  representations  of 
St.  Anna,  which,  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  fifteenth  century, 
placed  the  artists  under  certain  restrictions. 

Under  the  name  of  Anna,  the  Church  has  honored,  from 
remote  times,  the  memory  of  the  mother  of  the  Virgin.  The 
Hebrew  name,  signifying  Grace,  or  the  Gracious,  and  all  the 
conditions  concerning  her,  came  to  us  from  the  East,  where  she 
was  so  early  venerated  as  a  saint  that  a  church  was  dedicated 
to  her  by  the  Emperor  Justinian  in  550.  Several  other 
churches  were  subsequently  dedicated  to  her  in  Constantinople 


THE   LEGEND   OE   JOACHIM   AND   ANNA  185 

during  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries,  and  her  remains  are 
said  to  have  been  deposited  there  in  710.  In  the  West,  she 
first  became  known  in  the  reign  of  Charlemagne ;  and  the 
Greek  apocryphal  gospels,  or  at  least  stories  and  extracts  from 
them,  began  to  lie  circulated  about  the  same  period.  From 
these  are  derived  the  historic  scenes  and  legendary  subjects 
relating  to  Joachim  and  Anna  which  appear  in  early  Art.  It 
was  about  1500,  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
that  the  increasing  veneration  for  the  Virgin  Mary  gave  to  her 
parents,  more  especially  to  St.  Anna,  increased  celebrity  as 
patron  saints ;  and  they  became,  thenceforward,  more  frequent 
characters  in  the  sacred  group.  The  feast  of  St.  Anna  was 
already  general  and  popular  throughout  Europe  long  before  it 
was  rendered  obligatory  in  1581. 1  The  growing  enthusiasm 
for  the  doctrine  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  gave,  of  course, 
additional  splendor  and  importance  to  her  character.  Still,  it 
is  only  in  later  times  that  we  find  the  effigy  of  St.  Anna  sepa- 
rated from  that  of  the  Virgin.  There  is  a  curious  picture  by 
Cesi,  in  the  Bologna  Gallery,  in  which  St.  Anna  kneels  before 
a  vision  of  her  daughter  before  she  is  born  —  the  Virgin  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception.  A  fine  model  of  a  bearded  man 
was  now  sometimes  converted  into  a  St.  Joachim  reading  or 
meditating,  instead  of  a  St.  Peter  or  a  St.  Jerome,  as  heretofore. 
In  the  Munich  Gallery  are  two  fine,  ancient-looking  figures 
of  St.  Joachim  the  father  and  St.  Joseph  the  husband  of  the 
Virgin,  standing  together;  but  all  these,  as  separate  represen- 
tations, are  very  uncommon ;  and  of  those  which  exhibit  St. 
Anna  devotionally,  as  enthroned  with  the  Virgin  and  Child, 
I  have  already  spoken.  Like  St.  Elizabeth,  she  should  be  an 
elderly,  but  not  a  very  old  woman.  Joachim,  in  such  pic- 
tures, never  appears  but  as  an  attendant  saint,  and  then  very 
rarely  ;  always  very  old,  and  sometimes  in  the  dress  of  a  priest, 
which,  however,  is  a  mistake  on  the  part  of  the  artist. 

A  complete  series  of  the  history  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  as 
imaged  forth  by  the  early  artists,  always  begins  with  the 
legend  of  Joachim  and  Anna,  which  is  thus  related. 

"  There  was  a  man  of  Nazareth,  whose  name  was  Joachim, 
and  he  had  for  his  wife  a  woman  of  Bethlehem,  whose  name 

1  In  England  we  have  twenty-eight  churches  dedicated  in  the  name  of  St. 
Anna. 


186  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

was  Anna,  and  both  were  of  the  royal  race  of  David.  Their 
lives  were  pure  and  righteous,  and  they  served  the  Lord  with 
singleness  of  heart.  And,  being  rich,  they  divided  their  sub- 
stance into  three  portions,  one  for  the  service  of  the  temple, 
one  for  the  poor  and  the  strangers,  and  the  third  for  their  house- 
hold. On  a  certain  feast-day,  Joachim  brought  double  offer- 
ings to  the  Lord  according  to  his  custom,  for  he  said,  <  Out  of 
my  superfluity  will  I  give  for  the  whole  people,  that  I  may 
find  favor  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  forgiveness  for  my 
sins.'  And  when  the  children  of  Israel  brought  their  gifts, 
Joachim  also  brought  his  ;  but  the  high  priest  Issachar  stood 
over  against  him  and  opposed  him,  saying,  <  It  is  not  lawful 
for  thee  to  bring  thine  offering,  seeing  that  thou  hast  not  begot 
issue  in  Israel.'  And  Joachim  was  exceeding  sorrowful,  and 
went  down  to  his  house :  and  he  searched  through  all  the  ree- 
isters  of  the  twelve  tribes  to  discover  if  he  alone  had  been 
childless  in  Israel.  And  he  found  that  all  the  righteous  men, 
and  the  patriarchs  who  had  lived  before  him,  had  been  the  fa- 
thers of  sons  and  daughters.  And  he  called  to  mind  his 
father  Abraham,  to  whom  in  his  old  age  had  been  granted  a 
son,  even  Isaac. 

"  And  Joachim  was  more  and  more  sorrowful :  and  he  would 
not  be  seen  by  his  wife,  but  avoided  her,  and  went  away  into 
the  pastures  Avhere  were  the  shepherds  and  the  sheep-cotes. 
And  he  built  himself,  a  hut,  and  fasted  forty  days  and  forty 
nights ;  for  he  said,  '  Until  the  Lord  God  look  upon  me  merci- 
fully, prayer  shall  be  my  meat  and  my  drink.' 

"  But  his  wife  Anna  remained  lonely  in  her  house,  and 
mourned  with  a  twofold  sorrow,  for  her  widowhood  and  for 
her  barrenness. 

"Then  drew  near  the  last  day  of  the  feast  of  the  Lord  ;  and 
Judith  her  handmaid  said  to  Anna,  '  How  long  wilt  thou  thus 
afflict  thy  soul  ?  Behold,  the  feast  of  the  Lord  is  come,  and 
it  is  not  lawful  for  thee  thus  to  mourn.  Take  this  silken 
fillet,  which  was  bestowed  on  me  by  one  of  high  degree  whom 
I  formerly  served,  and  bind  it  round  thy  head,  for  it  is  not 
fit  that  I  who  am  thy  handmaid  should  wear  it,  but  it  is 
fitting  for  thee,  whose  brow  is  as  the  brow  of  a  crowned  queen.' 
And  Anna  replied,  '  Begone  !  such  things  are  not  for  me,  for 
the  Lord  has  humbled  me.  As  for  this  fillet,  some  wicked 
person  hath  given  it  to  thee  ;  and  art  thou  come  to  make  me 


THE   LEGEND    OF   JOACHIM   AND    ANNA  187 

a  partaker  in  thy  sin  ? '  And  Judith  her  maid  answered, 
1  What  evil  shall  I  wish  thee  since  thou  wilt  not  hearken  to 
my  voice  ?  for  worse  I  cannot  wish  thee  than  that  with  which 
the  Lord  hath  afflicted  thee,  seeing  that  he  hath  shut  up  thy 
womb,  that  thou  shouldst  not  be  a  mother  in  Israel.' 

"  And  Anna,  hearing  these  words,  was  sorely  troubled. 
And  she  laid  aside  her  mourning  garments,  and  she  adorned 
her  head,  and  put  on  her  bridal  attire ;  and  at  the  ninth  hour 
she  went  forth  into  her  garden,  and  sat  down  under  a  laurel- 
tree  and  prayed  earnestly.  And  looking  up  to  heaven  she 
saw  within  the  laurel  bush  a  sparrow's  nest ;  and  mourning 
within  herself,  she  said,  '  Alas  !  and  woe  is  me  !  who  hath  be- 
gotten me  ?  who  hath  brought  me  forth  ?  that  I  should  be 
accursed  in  the  sight  of  Israel  and  scorned  and  shamed  before 
my  people,  and  cast  out  of  the  temple  of  the  Lord  !  Woe  is 
me  !  to  what  shall  I  be  likened  ?  I  cannot  be  likened  to  the 
fowls  of  heaven,  for  the  fowls  of  heaven  are  fruitful  in  thy 
sight,  0  Lord  !  Woe  is  me  !  to  what  shall  I  be  likened  ? 
Not  to  the  unreasoning  beasts  of  the  earth,  for  they  are  fruit- 
ful in  thy  sight,  O  Lord !  Woe  is  me  !  to  what  shall  I  be 
likened  ?  Not  to  these  waters,  for  they  are  fruitful  in  thy 
sight,  0  Lord  !  Woe  is  me !  to  what  shall  I  be  likened  ? 
Not  unto  the  earth,  for  the  earth  bringeth  forth  her  fruit  in 
due  season,  and  praiseth  thee,  0  Lord ! ' 

"  And  behold,  an  angel  of  the  Lord  stood  by  her  and  said, 
'  Anna,  thy  prayer  is  heard ;  thou  shalt  bring  forth,  and  thy 
child  shall  be  blessed  throughout  the  whole  world.'  And 
Anna  said,  '  As  the  Lord  liveth,  whatever  I  shall  bring  forth, 
be  it  a  man-child  or  a  maid,  I  will  present  it  an  offering  to 
the  Lord.'  And  behold,  another  angel  came  and  said  to  her, 
'See,  thy  husband  Joachim  is  coming  with  his  shepherds;' 
for  an  angel  had  spoken  to  him  also,  and  had  comforted  him 
with  promises.  And  Anna  went  forth  to  meet  her  husband,  and 
Joachim  came  from  the  pasture  with  his  herds,  and  they  met 
at  the  golden  gate;  and  Anna  ran  and  embraced  her  husband, 
and  hung  upon  his  neck,  saying,  '  Now  know  I  that  the  Lord 
hath  blessed  me.  I  who  was  a  widow  am  no  longer  a  widow ; 
I  who  was  barren  shall  become  a  joyful  mother.' 

u  And  they  returned  home  together. 

"  And  when  her  time  was  come,  Anna  brought  forth  a 
daughter,   and  she   said,   '  This   day  my   soul  magnifieth  the 


188 


HISTOKICAL   SUBJECTS 


Lord.'  And  she  laid  herself  down  on  her  hed ;  and  she 
called  the  name  of  her  child  Mary,  which  in  the  Hebrew  is 
Miriam." 

With  the  scenes  of  this  beautiful  pastoral  begins  the  life  of 
the  Virgin. 

1.  We  have  first  Joachim  rejected  from  the  temple.  He 
stands  on  the  steps  before  the  altar  holding  a  lamb,  and  the 
high  priest  opposite  to  him  with  arm  upraised  appears  to  refuse 


Joachim  rejected  from  the  Temple  (Taddeo  Gaddi) 

his  offering.  Such  is  the  usual  motif ;  but  the  incident  has 
been  variously  treated  —  in  the  earlier  and  ruder  examples, 
with  a  ludicrous  want  of  dignity ;  for  Joachim  is  almost 
tumbling  down  the  steps  of  the  temple  to  avoid  the  box  on 
the  ear  which  Issachar  the  priest  is  in  the  act  of  bestowing  in 
a  most  energetic  fashion.  On  the  other  hand,  the  group  by 
Taddeo  Gaddi  (Florence,  Baroncelli  chapel,  S.  Croce),  though 
so  early  in   date,  has   not  since  been   excelled,  either  in  the 


THE   LEGEND    OF   JOACHIM    AND   ANNA  189 

grace  or  the  dramatic  significance  of  the  treatment.  Joachim 
turns  away,  with  his  lamb  in  his  arms,  repulsed,  but  gently, 
by  the  priest.  To  the  right  are  three  personages  who  bring 
offerings ;  one  of  them,  prostrate  on  his  knees,  yet  looks  up  at 
Joachim  with  a  sneering  expression  —  a  fine  representation  of 
the  pharisaical  piety  of  one  of  the  elect,  rejoicing  in  the  humili- 
ation of  a  brother.  On  the  other  side  are  three  persons  who 
appear  to  be  commenting  on  the  scene.  In  the  more  elaborate 
composition  by  Ghirlandajo  (Florence,  S.  Maria  Novella)  there 
is  a  grand  view  into  the  interior  of  the  temple,  with  arches 
richly  sculptured.  Joachim  is  thrust  forth  by  one  of  the  at- 
tendants, while  in  the  background  the  high  priest  accepts  the 
offering  of  a  more  favored  votary.  On  each  side  are  groups 
looking  on,  who  express  the  contempt  and  hatred  they  feel 
for  one  who,  not  having  children,  presumes  to  approach  the 
altar.  All  these,  according  to  the  custom  of  Ghirlandajo,  are 
portraits  of  distinguished  persons.  The  first  figure  on  the 
right  represents  the  painter  Baldovinetti ;  next  to  him,  with 
his  hand  on  his  side,  Ghirlandajo  himself;  the  third,  with 
long  black  hair,  is  Bastiano  Mainardi,  who  painted  the  As- 
sumption in  the  Baroncelli  chapel  in  the  Santa  Croce ;  and 
the  fourth,  turning  his  back,  is  David  Ghirlandajo.  These 
real  personages  are  so  managed  that,  while  they  are  not  them- 
selves actors,  they  do  not  interfere  with  the  main  action,  but 
rather  embellish  and  illustrate  it,  like  the  chorus  in  a  Greek 
tragedy.  Every  single  figure  in  this  fine  fresco  is  a  study  for 
manly  character,  dignified  attitude,  and  easy  grand  drapery. 

In  the  same  scene  by  Albert  Durer,  in  the  set  of  woodcuts 
of  the  Life  of  the  Virgin,  the  high  priest,  standing  behind  a 
table,  rejects  the  offering  of  the  lamb,  and  his  attendant  pushes 
away  the  doves.  Joachim  makes  a  gesture  of  despair,  and 
several  persons  who  bring  offerings  look  at  him  with  disdain 
or  with  sympathy. 

The  same  scene  by  Luini  (Milan,  Brera)  is  conceived  with 
much  pathetic  as  well  as  dramatic  effect.  But  as  I  have  said 
enough  to  render  the  subject  easily  recognized,  we  proceed. 

2.  "Joachim  herding  his  sheep  on  the  mountain,  and  sur- 
rounded by  his  shepherds,  receives  the  message  of  the  angel." 
This  subject  may  so  nearly  resemble  the  Annunciation  to  the 
Shepherds  in  St.  Luke's  Gospel  that  we  must  be  careful  to 
distinguish  them,  as,  indeed,  the  best  of  the  old  painters  have 
done  with  great  taste  and  feeling. 


190  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

In  the  fresco  by  Taddeo  Gaddi  (in  the  Baroncelli  chapel) 
Joachim  is  seated  on  a  rocky  mountain,  at  the  base  of  which 
his  sheep  are  feeding,  and  turns  round  to  listen  to  the  voice 
of  the  angel.  In  the  fresco  by  Giotto  in  the  Arena  at  Padua 
the  treatment  is  nearly  the  same.1  In  the  series  by  Luini  a 
stream  runs  down  the  centre  of  the  picture  :  on  one  side  is 
Joachim  listening  to  the  angel ;  on  the  other,  Anna  is  walking 
in  her  garden.  This  incident  is  omitted  by  Ghirlandajo.  In 
Albert  Diirer's  composition  Joachim  is  seen  in  the  foreground 
kneeling,  and  looking  up  at  an  angel,  who  holds  out  in  both 
hands  a  sort  of  parchment  roll  looking  like  a  diploma  with 
seals  appended,  and  which  we  may  suppose  to  contain  the 
message  from  on  high  (if  it  be  not  rather  the  emblem  of  the 
sealed  book,  so  often  introduced,  particularly  by  the  German 
masters).  A  companion  of  Joachim  also  looks  up  with  amaze- 
ment, and  farther  in  the  distance  are  sheep  and  shepherds. 

The  Annunciation  to  St.  Anna  may  be  easily  mistaken  for 
the  Annunciation  to  the  Virgin  Mary.  We  must  therefore  be 
careful  to  discriminate,  by  an  attention  to  the  accessories. 
Didron  observes  that  in  Western  Art  the  Annunciation  to  St. 
Anna  usually  takes  place  in  a  chamber.  In  the  East  it  takes 
place  in  a  garden,  because  there  "  on  vit  peu  dans  les  maisons 
et  beaucoup  en  plein  air  ;  "  but,  according  to  the  legend,  the 
locality  ought  to  be  a  garden,  and  under  a  laurel-tree,  which  is 
not  always  attended  to. 

3.  The  altercation  between  St.  Anna  and  her  maid  Judith  I 
have  never  met  with  but  once,  in  the  series  by  Luini  (Milan, 
Brera),  where  the  disconsolate  figure  and  expression  of  St. 
Anna  are  given  with  infinite  grace  and  sentiment. 

4.  "  The  meeting  of  Joachim  and  Anna  before  the  golden 
gate."  This  is  one  of  the  most  important  subjects.  It  has 
been  treated  by  the  very  early  artists  with  much  natvetS,  and 
in  the  later  examples  with  infinite  beauty  and  sentiment ;  and, 
which  is  curious,  it  has  been  idealized  into  a  devotional  sub- 
ject, and  treated  apart.  The  action  is  in  itself  extremely  sim- 
ple. The  husband  and  wife  affectionately  and  joyfully  embrace 
each  other.  In  the  background  is  seen  a  gate,  richly  orna- 
mented. Groups  of  spectators  and  attendants  are  sometimes, 
not  always,  introduced. 

1  The  subject  will  be  found  in  the  set  of  woodcuts  published  by  the  Arundel 
Society. 


THE  LEGEND  OF  JOACHIM  AND  ANNA 


191 


Meeting  of  Joachim  and  Anna  (Albert  Diirer) 


In  the  composition  of  Albert  Diirer  [series,  "  Life  of  the 
Virgin"]  nothing  can  be  more  homely,  hearty,  and  conjugal. 
A  burly  fat  man,  who  looks  on  with  a  sort  of  wondering 
amusement  in  his  face,  appears  to  be  a  true  and  animated  tran- 


192  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

script  from  nature,  as  true  as  Ghirlandajo's  attendant  figures 
—  but  how  different !  what  a  contrast  between  the  Florentine 
citizen  and  the  German  burgher !  In  the  simpler  composition 
by  Taddeo  Gaddi,  St.  Anna  is  attended  by  three  women,  among 
whom  the  maid  Judith  is  conspicuous,  and  behind  Joachim  is 
one  of  his  shepherds.  In  two  compartments  of  a  small  altar- 
piece  (which  probably  represented  in  the  centre  the  Nativity 
of  the  Virgin)  I  found  on  one  side  the  story  of  St.  Joachim, 
on  the  other  the  story  of  St.  Anna.  (Collection  of  Lord 
Northwick.1) 

The  Franciscans,  those  enthusiastic  defenders  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception,  were  the  authors  of  a  fantastic  idea,  that 
the  birth  of  the  Virgin  was  not  only  immaculate,  but  alto- 
gether miraculous,  and  that  she  owed  her  being  to  the  joyful 
kiss  which  Joachim  gave  his  wife  when  they  met  at  the  gate. 
Of  course  the  Church  gave  no  countenance  to  this  strange 
poetical  fiction,  but  it  certainly  modified  some  of  the  repre- 
sentations :  for  example,  there  is  a  picture  by  Vittore  Carpaccio 
[in  the  Venice  Academy],  wherein  St.  Joachim  and  Anna  ten- 
derly embrace.  On  one  side  stands  St.  Louis  of  Toulouse  as 
bishop  ;  on  the  other  St.  Ursula  with  her  standard,  whose  pres- 
ence turns  the  incident  into  a  religious  mystery.  In  another 
picture,  painted  by  Ridolfo  Ghirlandajo,  we  have  a  still  more 
singular  and  altogether  mystical  treatment.  In  the  centre  St. 
Joachim  and  St.  Anna  embrace ;  behind  St.  Joachim  stands  St. 
Joseph  with  his  lily  wand  and  a  book  ;  behind  St.  Anna,  the 
Virgin  Mary  (thus  represented  as  existing  before  she  was 
born2),  and  beyond  her  St.  Laurence;  in  the  corner  is  seen 
the  head  of  the  votary,  a  Servite  monk  ;  above  all,  the  Padre 
Eterno  holds  an  open  book  with  the  Alpha  and  Omega.  This 
singular  picture  was  dedicated  and  placed  over  the  high  altar 
of  the  Conception  in  the  church  of  the  Servi,  who,  under  the 
title  of  Serriti  di  Maria,  were  dedicated  to  the  especial  ser- 
vice of  the  Virgin  Mary.  {Vide  Legends  of  the  Monastic 
Orders,  p.  232.) 

i  [The  collection  of  Lord  Northwick  was  dispersed  in  the  sale  of  1859.     Vide 
Redford's  Sales,  vol.  i.  p.  157.] 
2  Prov.  viii.  22,  23.     These  texts  are  applied  to  the  Madonna. 


I 


THE   NATIVITY   OF   THE   BLESSED    VIRGIN 


The  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 


193 


Ital.   La  Xascita  della  B.  Vergine.     Fr.  La  Naissance  de  la  S. 


Vierge. 


Ger.  Die  Geburt  Maria. 


This  is,  of  course,  a  very  important  subject.  It  is  some- 
times treated  apart  as  a  separate  scene ;  and  a  series  of  pictures 
dedicated  to  the  honor  of  the  Virgin,  and  comprising  only  a 
few  of  the  most  eventful  scenes  in  her  history,  generally  begins 
with  her  Nativity.  The  primitive  treatment  is  Greek,  and, 
though  varied  in  the  details  and  the  sentiment,  it  has  never 
deviated  much  from  the  original  motif. 


^jfefigaaagaraBBTfia  jR8mmxm&m 


Birth  of  the  Virgin  (Greco-Italian) 

St.  Anna  reclines  on  a  couch  covered  with  drapery,  and  a 
pillow  under  her  head  ;  two  handmaids  sustain  her  ;  a  third 
fans  her,  or  presents  refreshments  ;  more  in  front  a  group  of 
woman  are  busied  about  the  new-born  child.      It  has  been  the 


\ 


194  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

custom,  I  know  not  on  what  authority,  to  introduce  neighbors 
and  friends,  who  come  to  congratulate  the  parents.  The  whole 
scene  thus  treated  is  sure  to  come  home  to  the  bosom  of  the 
observer.  The  most  important  event  in  the  life  of  a  woman, 
her  most  common  and  yet  most  awful  experience,  is  here  so 
treated  as  to  be  at  once  ennobled  by  its  significance,  and  en- 
deared by  its  thoroughly  domestic  character. 

I  will  give  some  examples.  1.  The  first  is  after  an  unknown 
master  of  the  Greco-Italian  school,  and  referred  by  D'Agin- 
court  to  the  thirteenth  century,  but  it  is  evidently  later,  and 
quite  in  the  style  of  the  Gaddi. 

2.  There  is  both  dignity  and  simplicity  in  the  fresco  by 
Taddeo  Gaddi.  (Florence,  Baroncelli  chapel.)  St.  Anna  is 
sitting  up  in  bed  ;  an  attendant  pours  water  over  her  hands. 
In  front,  two  women  are  affectionately  occupied  with  the  child, 
a  lovely  infant  with  a  glory  round  its  head.  Three  other 
attendants  are  at  the  foot  of  the  bed. 

3.  We  have  next  in  date  the  elegant  composition  by  Ghir- 
landajo.  [Santa  Maria  Novella,  Florence.]  As  Joachim  and 
Anna  were  "  exceedingly  rich,"  he  has  surrounded  them  with 
all  the  luxuries  of  life.  The  scene  is  a  chamber  richly  deco- 
rated ;  a  frieze  of  angelic  boys  ornaments  the  alcove  ;  St.  Anna 
lies  on  a  couch.  Vasari  says  "  certain  women  are  ministering 
to  her ;  "  but  in  Lasinio's  engraving  they  are  not  to  be  found. 
In  front  a  female  attendant  pours  water  into  a  vase ;  two 
others  seated  hold  the  infant.  A  noble  lady,  habited  in  the 
elegant  Florentine  costume  of  the  fifteenth  century,  enters  with 
four  others  —  all  portraits,  and,  as  is  usual  with  Ghirlandajo, 
looking  on  without  taking  any  part  in  the  action.  The  lady 
in  front  is  traditionally  said  to  be  Ginevra  Benci,  celebrated 
for  her  beauty. 

4.  The  composition  by  Albert  Diirer,  in  the  series,  "Life 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,"  gives  us  an  exact  transcript  of  antique 
German  life,  quite  wonderful  for  the  homely  truth  of  the  de- 
lineation, but  equally  without  the  simplicity  of  a  scriptural  or 
the  dignity  of  an  historical  scene.  In  an  old-fashioned  German 
chamber  lies  St.  Anna  in  an  old-fashioned  canopied  bedstead. 
Two  women  bring  her  a  soup  and  something  to  drink,  while  the 
midwife,  tired  with  her  exertions,  leans  her  head  on  the  bed- 
stead, and  has  sunk  to  sleep.  A  crowd  of  women  fill  up  the 
foreground,  one  of  whom  attends  to  the  new-born  child ;  others, 


u 
y. 


- 


THE   NATIVITY   OF   THE   BLESSED   VIRGIN  195 

who  appear  to  have  watched  through  the  night,  as  we  may 
suppose  from  the  nearly  extinguished  candles,  are  intent  on 
good  cheer;  they  congratulate  each  other;  they  eat,  drink,  and 
repose  themselves.  It  would  be  merely  a  scene  of  German 
commerage,  full  of  nature  and  reality,  if  an  angel  hovering 
above  and  swinging  a  censer  did  not  remind  us  of  the  sacred 
importance  of  the  incident  represented. 

5.  In  the  strongest  possible  contrast  to  the  homely  but  ani- 
mated conception  of  Albert  Dtirer  is  the  grand  fresco  by 
Andrea  del  Sarto,  in  the  church  of  the  Nunziata  at  Florence. 
The  incidents  are  nearly  the  same :  we  have  St.  Anna  reclining 
in  her  bed  and  attended  by  her  women ;  the  nurses  waiting  on 
the  lovely  new-born  child ;  the  visitors  who  enter  to  congratu- 
late ;  but  all,  down  to  the  handmaidens  who  bring  refresh- 
ments, are  noble  and  dignified,  and  draped  in  that  magnificent 
taste  which  distinguished  Andrea.  Angels  scatter  flowers  from 
above,  and,  which  is  very  uncommon,  Joachim  is  seen,  after 
the  anxious  night,  reposing  on  a  couch.  Nothing  in  fresco 
can  exceed  the  harmony  and  brilliancy  of  the  coloring,  and 
the  softness  of  the  execution.  It  appeared  to  me  a  master- 
piece as  a  picture.  Like  Ghirlandajo,  Andrea  has  introduced 
portraits;  and  in  the  Florentine  lady  who  stands  in  the  fore- 
ground we  recognize  the  features  of  his  worthless  wife,  Lu- 
crezia,  the  original  model  of  so  many  of  his  female  figures 
that  the  ignoble  beauty  of  her  face  has  become  quite  familiar. 

Although  the  Nativity  of  the  Virgin  Mary  is  one  of  the  great 
festivals  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  I  have  seldom  seen  it 
treated  as  a  separate  subject  and  an  altar-piece.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  very  remarkable  example  in  the  Belle  Arti  at  Siena.  It 
is  a  triptych  inclosed  in  a  framework  elaborately  carved  and 
gilt,  in  the  Gothic  style.  In  the  centre  compartment,  St.  Anna 
lies  on  a  rich  couch  covered  with  crimson  drapery  ;  a  graceful 
female  presents  an  embroidered  napkin,  others  enter,  bringing 
refreshments,  as  usual.  In  front,  three  attendants  minister  to 
the  Infant :  one  of  them  is  in  an  attitude  of  admiration  ;  on  the 
right,  Joachim  seated,  with  white  hair  and  beard,  receives  the 
congratulations  of  a  young  man  who  seems  to  envy  his  paternity. 
In  the  compartment  on  the  right  stand  St.  James  Major  and 
St.  Catherine;  on  the  left,  St.  Bartholomew  and  St.  Elizabeth 
of  Hungary  (?).  Tins  picture  is  in  the  hard  primitive  style  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  by  an  unknown  painter,  who  must  have 


196  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

lived  before  Giovanni  di  Paolo,  but  vividly  colored,  exquisitely 
finished,  and  full  of  sentiment  and  dramatic  feeling. 


The  Presentation  of  the  Virgin 

Ital.  La  Presentazione,  ove  nostra  Signora  piccioletta  sale  i  gradi 
del  Tempio.  Ger.  Joachim  und  Anna  weihen  ihre  Tochter 
Maria  im  Tempel.  Die  Vorstellung  der  Jungfrau  im  Tempel. 
(Nov.  21.) 

In  the  interval  between  the  birth  of  Mary  and  her  consecra- 
tion in  the  temple  there  is  no  incident  which  I  can  remember 
as  being  important  or  popular  as  a  subject  of  Art. 

It  is  recorded  with  what  tenderness  her  mother  Anna  watched 
over  her,  "  how  she  made  of  her  bedchamber  a  holy  place, 
allowing  nothing  that  was  common  or  unclean  to  enter  in  ;  " 
and  called  to  her  "  certain  daughters  of  Israel,  pure  and  gentle, 
whom  she  appointed  to  attend  on  her."  In  some  of  the  early 
miniature  illustrations  of  the  Offices  of  the  Virgin  St.  Anna 
thus  ministers  to  her  child ;  for  instance,  in  a  beautiful  Greek 
MS.  in  the  Vatican  she  is  tenderly  putting  her  into  a  little 
bed  or  cradle,  and  covering  her  up.1 

It  is  not  said  anywhere  that  St.  Anna  instructed  her  daugh- 
ter. It  has  even  been  regarded  as  unorthodox  to  suppose 
that  the  Virgin,  enriched  from  her  birth,  and  before  her  birth, 
with  all  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  required  instruction  from 
any  one.  Nevertheless,  the  subject  of  the  "  Education  of  the 
Virgin "  has  been  often  represented  in  later  times.  There 
is  a  beautiful  example  by  Murillo  (Madrid  Gallery)  ;  while 
Anna  teaches  her  child  to  read,  angels  hover  over  them  with 
wreaths  of  roses.  Another  by  Rubens,  in  which,  as  it  is 
said,  he  represented  his  young  wife,  Helena  Forman.  (Musee, 
Antwerp.)  There  is  also  a  picture  in  which  St.  Anna  minis- 
ters to  her  daughter,  and  is  intent  on  braiding  and  adorning 
her  long  golden  hair,  while  the  angels  look  on  with  devout 
admiration.  (Vienna,  Lichtenstein  Gallery.)  In  all  these 
examples  Mary  is  represented  as  a  girl  of  ten  or  twelve  years 
old.  Now,  as  the  legend  expressly  relates  that  she  was  three 
years  old  when  she  became  an  inmate  of  the  temple,  such  rep- 
resentations must  be  considered  as  incorrect. 

The  narrative  thus  proceeds  :  — 

1  It  is  engraved  in  D'Agincourt. 


THE    PRESENTATION    OF   THE   VIRGIN  197 

"  And  when  the  child  was  three  years  old,  Joachim  said, 
'Let  us  invite  the  daughters  of  Israe],  and  they  shall  take 
each  a  taper  or  a  lamp,  and  attend  on  her,  that  the  child  may 
not  turn  hack  from  the  temple  of  the  Lord.'  And  being 
come  to  the  temple,  they  placed  her  on  the  first  step,  and  she 
ascended  alone  all  the  steps  to  the  altar :  and  the  high  priest 
received  her  there,  kissed  her,  and  blessed  her,  saying, 
'  Mary,  the  Lord  bath  magnified  thy  name  to  all  generations, 
and  in  thee  shall  be  made  known  the  redemption  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel.'  And  being  placed  before  the  altar,  she 
danced  with  her  feet,  so  that  all  the  house  of  Israel  rejoiced 
with  her,  and  loved  her.  Then  her  parents  returned  home, 
blessing  God  because  the  maiden  had  not  turned  back  from 
the  temple." 

Such  is  the  incident,  which,  in  artistic  representation,  is 
sometimes  styled  the  "  Dedication,"  but  more  generally  "  The 
Presentation  of  the  Virgin." 

It  is  a  subject  of  great  importance,  not  only  as  a  principal 
incident  in  a  series  of  the  Life  of  the  Virgin,  but  because  this 
consecration  of  Mary  to  the  service  of  the  temple  being  taken 
in  a  general  sense,  it  has  often  been  given  in  a  separate  form, 
particularly  for  the  nunneries.  Hence  it  has  happened  that 
we  find  "  The  Presentation  of  the  Virgin  "  among  some  of  the 
most  precious  examples  of  ancient  and  modern  Art. 

The  mot  if  does  not  vary.  The  child  Mary,  sometimes  in  a 
blue,  but  oftener  in  a  white  vesture,  with  long  golden  hair,  as- 
cends the  steps  which  lead  to  the  porch  of  the  temple,  which 
steps  are  always  fifteen  in  number.  She  ought  to  be  an  infant 
of  three  years  of  age  ;  but  in  many  pictures  she  is  represented 
older,  veiled,  and  with  a  taper  in  her  hand  instead  of  a  lamp, 
like  a  young  nun;  but  this  is  a  fault.  The  "fifteen  steps" 
rest  on  a  passage  in  Josephus,  who  says,  "  between  the  wall 
which  separated  the  men  from  the  women,  and  the  great 
porch  of  the  temple,  were  fifteen  steps;"  and  these  are  the 
steps  which  Mary  is  supposed  to  ascend. 

1.  It  is  sometimes  treated  with  great  simplicity ;  for  in- 
stance, in  the  bas-relief  by  Andrea  Orcagna  there  are  only 
three  principal  figures  —  the  Virgin  in  the  centre  (too  old, 
however),  and  Joachim  and  Anna  stand  on  each  side.  (Flor- 
ence, Or  San  Michele.) 


198  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

In  the  fresco  by  Taddeo  Gaddi  we  have  the  same  artless 
grace,  the  same  dramatic  grouping,  and  the  same  faults  of 
drawing  and  perspective,  as  in  the  other  compartments  of  the 
series.      (Florence,  Baroncelli  chapel.) 

3.  The  scene  is  represented  by  Ghirlandajo  (Florence,  S. 
Maria  Novella)  with  his  usual  luxury  of  accessories  and  ac- 
companiments. The  locality  is  the  court  of  the  temple  ;  on 
the  right  a  magnificent  porch  ;  the  Virgin,  a  young  girl  of 
about  nine  or  ten  years  old,  is  seen  ascending  the  steps  with  a 
book  in  her  hand  ;  the  priest  stretches  out  his  arms  to  receive 
her  ;  behind  him  is  another  priest ;  and  "  the  young  virgins 
who  were  to  be  her  companions  "  are  advancing  joyously  to 
receive  her.1  At  the  foot  of  the  steps  are  St.  Anna  and  St. 
Joachim,  and  further  off  a  group  of  women  and  spectators,  who 
watch  the  event  in  attitudes  of  thanksgiving  and  joyful  sym- 
pathy. Two  venerable,  grand-looking  Jews,  and  two  beauti- 
ful boys,  fill  the  foreground ;  and  the  figure  of  the  pilgrim 
resting  on  the  steps  is  memorable  in  Art  as  one  of  the  earliest 
examples  of  an  undraped  figure,  accurately  and  gracefully 
drawn.  The  whole  composition  is  full  of  life  and  character, 
and  that  sort  of  elegance  peculiar  to  Ghirlandajo. 

4.  In  the  composition  of  Albert  Dtirer  [in  the  series, 
"  Life  of  the  Virgin  "]  we  see  the  entrance  of  the  temple  on  the 
left,  and  the  child  Mary  with  flowing  hair  ascending  the  steps  ; 
behind  her  stand  her  parents  and  other  personages,  and  in 
front  are  venders  of  provisions,  doves,  etc.,  which  are  brought 
as  offerings. 

5.  The  scene  as  given  by  Carpaccio  appears  to  me  exceed- 
ingly graceful.  The  perfectly  childish  figure  of  Mary  with 
her  light  flowing  tresses,  the  grace  with  which  she  kneels 
on  the  steps,  and  the  disposition  of  the  attendant  figures,  are 
all  beautifully  conceived.  Conspicuous  in  front  is  a  page  hold- 
ing a  unicorn,  the  ancient  emblem  of  chastity,  and  often  in- 
troduced significantly  into  pictures  of  the  Virgin.  [Brera, 
Milan.] 

6.  But  the  most  celebrated  example  is  the  Presentation  by 
Titian,  in  the  Academy  at  Venice,  originally  painted  for  the 
church  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Charity  (Scitola,  delta  Carita, 
and  still  to  be  seen  there  —  the  Carita  being  now  the  Academy 
of  Art.      This  famous  picture  is  so  well  known  through  the 

1  "Adducentur  Regi  Virgines  post  earn."     Ps.  xlv. 


THE   PRESENTATION    OF   THE   VIRGIN 


199 


Presentation  of  the  Virgin  (Carpaccio) 


numerous  engravings,  that  I  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to 
reproduce  it  here.  In  the  general  arrangement  Titian  seems 
to  have  been  indebted  to  Carpaccio ;  but  all  that  is  simple  and 
poetical  in  the  latter  becomes  in  Titian's  version  sumptuous 
and  dramatic.  Here  Mary  does  not  kneel,  but,  holding  up  her 
light  blue  drapery,  ascends  the  steps  with  childish  grace  and 
alacrity.  The  number  of  portrait-heads  adds  to  the  value  and 
interest  of  the  picture.  Titian  himself  is  looking  up,  and 
near  him  stands  his  friend,  Andrea  de'  Franceschi,  grand- 
chancellor  of  Venice,1  robed  as  a  Cavaliero  di  Sun  Marco.  In 
the  fine  bearded  head  of  the  priest,  who  stands  behind  the 
high  priest,  we  may  recognize,  I  think,  the  likeness  of  Cardi- 
nal Bembo.  In  the  foreground,  instead  of  the  poetical  symbol 
of  the  unicorn,  we  have  an  old  woman  selling  eggs  and  fowls, 

1  "  Amorevolissimo  del  Pittore,"  says  Ridolfi.  It  is  the  same  person  whom 
Titian  introduced,  with  himself,  in  the  line  picture  at  Windsor,  [bee  Early 
Italian  Painters,  under  subject  "  Titian."] 


200  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

as  in  Albert  Dlirer's  print,  which  must  have  been  well  known 
to  Titian.  Albert  Diirer  published  his  "  Life  of  the  Virgin  "  in 
1520,1  and  Titian  painted  his  picture  about  1550.  (Venice 
Academy.) 

The  Virgin  in  the  Temple 

From  the  life  of  the  Virgin  in  the  temple  we  have  several 
beautiful  pictures.  As  she  was  to  be  placed  before  women  as 
an  example  of  every  virtue,  so  she  was  skilled  in  all  feminine 
accomplishments ;  she  was  as  studious,  as  learned,  as  wise,  as 
she  was  industrious,  chaste,  and  temperate. 

She  is  seen  surrounded  by  her  young  companions,  the 
maidens  who  were  brought  up  in  the  temple  with  her,  in  a 
picture  by  Agnolo  Gaddi.  (Florence,  Carmine.)  She  is  in- 
structing her  companions,  in  a  charming  picture  by  Luini : 
here  she  appears  as  a  girl  of  seven  or  eight  years  old,  seated 
on  a  sort  of  throne,  dressed  in  a  simple  light  blue  tunic,  with 
long  golden  hair  ;  while  the  children  around  her  look  up  and 
listen  with  devout  faces.      (Brera,  Milan.) 

The  Girlhood  of  the  Virgin 

Some  other  scenes  of  her  early  life,  which  in  the  Protevan- 
gelion  are  placed  after  her  marriage  with  Joseph,  in  pictures 
usually  precede  it.  Thus,  she  is  chosen  by  lot  to  spin  the 
fine  purple  for  the  temple,  to  weave  and  embroider  it.  Didron 
mentions  a  fine  antique  tapestry  at  Rheims,  in  which  Mary  is 
seated  at  her  embroidery,  while  two  unicorns  crouching  on  each 
side  look  up  in  her  face. 

I  remember  a  fine  drawing,  in  which  the  Virgin  is  seated  at 
a  large  tapestry  frame.  Behind  her  are  two  maidens,  one  of 
whom  is  reading ;  the  other,  holding  a  distaff,  lays  her  hand 
on  the  shoulder  of  the  Virgin,  as  if  about  to  speak.  The 
scene  represents  the  interior  of  the  temple  with  rich  architec- 
ture.     (Vienna,  collection  of  Archduke  Charles.) 

In  a  small  but  very  pretty  picture  by  Guido,  the  Virgin,  as 
a  young  girl,  sits  embroidering  a  yelloiv  robe.  She  is  at- 
tended by  four  angels,  one  of  whom  draws  aside  a  curtain. 
(Lord  Ellesmere's  Gallery.) 

l  [In  1511,  according  to  Thausing.] 


THE   GIRLHOOD   OF   THE   VIRGIN  201 

It  is  also  related,  that  among  the  companions  of  Mary  in  the 
temple  was  Anna  the  prophetess ;  and  that  this  aged  and  holy 
woman,  knowing  by  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit  the  pecul- 
iar grace  vouchsafed  to  Mary,  and  her  high  destiny,  beheld  her 
with  equal  love  and  veneration  ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  dis- 
parity of  age,  they  became  true  and  dear  friends. 

In  an  old  illumination  the  Virgin  is  seated  spinning,  with 
an  angel  by  her  side.1 

It  is  recorded  that  the  angels  daily  ministered  to  her  and 
fed  her  with  celestial  food.  Hence  in  some  early  specimens  of 
Art  an  angel  brings  her  a  loaf  of  bread  and  a  pitcher  of  water 
—  the  bread  of  life  and  the  water  of  life  from  Paradise.  In 
this  subject,  as  we  find  it  carved  on  the  stalls  of  the  cathedral 
of  Amiens,  Mary  holds  a  book,  and  several  books  are  ranged 
on  a  shelf  in  the  background  ;  there  is,  besides,  a  clock,  such 
as  was  in  use  in  the  fifteenth  century,  to  indicate  the  studious 
and  regular  life  led  by  Mary  in  the  temple. 

St.  Evode.  patriarch  of  Antioch,  and  St.  Germanus  assert, 
as  an  indubitable  tradition  of  the  Greek  Church,  that  Mary 
had  the  privilege  —  never  granted  to  one  of  her  sex  before  or 
since  —  of  entering  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  praying  before 
the  ark  of  the  covenant.  Hence,  in  some  of  the  scenes  from 
her  early  life,  the  ark  is  placed  in  the  background.  We  must 
also  bear  in  mind  that  the  ark  was  one  of  the  received  types 
of  her  who  bore  the  Logos  within  her  bosom. 

In  her  fourteenth  year  Mary  was  informed  by  the  high 
priest  that  it  was  proper  that  she  should  be  married  ;  but  she 
modestly  replied  that  her  parents  had  dedicated  her  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Lord,  and  that,  therefore,  she  could  not  comply. 
But  the  high  priest,  who  had  received  a  revelation  from  an 
angel  concerning  the  destiny  of  Mary,  informed  her  thereof, 
and  she  with  all  humility  submitted  herself  to  the  divine  will. 
The  scene  between  Mary  and  the  high  priest  has  been  painted 
by  Luini,  and  it  is  the  only  example  with  which  I  am  ac- 
quainted. 

Pictures  of  the  Virgin  in  her  girlhood,  reading  intently  the 
Book  of  Wisdom,  while  angels  watch  over  her,  are  often  of 
i  Office  of  the  Virgin,  1408,  Oxford,  Bodleian. 


202  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

great  beauty.  [An  example  is  the  fresco  by  Pinturicchio  in 
S.  Maria  del  Popolo,  Rome. 

The  girlhood  of  the  Virgin  is  the  subject  of  a  remarkable 
picture  by  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti.  It  represents  the  Virgin 
and  her  mother  sitting  at  an  embroidery  frame  in  a  vine- 
covered  balcony.  St.  Joseph  is  trimming  the  vine,  and  a  child 
angel  waters  a  lily  standing  near.  The  picture  was  the  first 
outcome  of  the  artist's  pre-Raphaelite  views,  and  prepared  the 
way  for  his  still  more  beautiful  interpretation  of  the  Virgin's 
girlhood,  the  "  Ecce  Ancilla  Domini."  Several  modern  Ger- 
man artists  have  painted  the  child  Mary  as  a  single  figure,  the 
best  perhaps  being  Ittenbach's  Maria  Virgo,  in  the  Museum  at 
Hanover.  The  face  is  of  an  exquisite  flower-like  beauty,  and 
there  is  much  spirituality  in  the  conception. 

Others,  imitated  apparently  from  the  figure  by  Ittenbach, 
are  by  Sinkel  and  by  Franz  Muller.] 

The  Marriage  of  the  Virgin 

Ital.   II  Sposalizio.      Fr.  Le  Mariage   de  la  Vierge.      Ger.   Die 
Trauung  Maria.     (Jan.  23.) 

This,  as  an  artistic  subject,  is  of  great  consequence,  from 
the  beauty  and  celebrity  of  some  of  the  representations,  which, 
however,  are  unintelligible  without  the  accompanying  legends. 
And  it  is  worth  remarking,  that  while  the  incident  is  avoided 
in  early  Greek  Art,  it  became  very  popular  with  the  Italian 
and  German  painters  from  the  fourteenth  century. 

In  the  East,  the  prevalence  of  the  monastic  spirit,  from  the 
fourth  century,  had  brought  marriage  into  disrepute  ;  by  many 
of  the  ascetic  writers  of  the  West  it  was  considered  almost  in 
the  light  of  a  necessary  evil.  This  idea,  that  the  primal  and 
most  sacred  ordinance  of  God  and  nature  was  incompatible 
with  the  sanctity  and  purity  acceptable  to  God,  was  the  origin 
of  the  singular  legends  of  the  Marriage  of  the  Virgin.  One 
sees  very  clearly  that,  if  possible,  it  would  have  been  denied 
that  Mary  had  ever  been  married  at  all  ;  but,  as  the  testimony 
of  the  Gospel  was  too  direct  and  absolute  to  be  set  aside,  it 
became  necessary,  in  the  narrative,  to  give  to  this  distasteful 
marriage  the  most  recondite  motives,  and,  in  Art,  to  surround 
it  with  the  most  poetical  and  even  miraculous  accessories. 

But  before  we  enter  on  the  treatment  of  the  subject,  it  is 


THE    MARRIAGE    OF   THE   VIRCHN 


203 


necessary  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  character  of  Joseph,  won- 
derfully selected  to  he  the  husband  and  guardian  of  the  conse- 
crated mother  of  Christ,  and  foster-father  of  the  Redeemer ; 
and  so  often  introduced  into  all  the  pictures  which  refer  to  the 
childhood  of  our  Lord. 

From  the  Gospels  we  learn  nothing  of  him  but  that  he  was 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah  and  the  lineage  of  David  ;  that  he  was 
a  just  man ;  that  he  followed  the  trade  of  a  carpenter,  and 
dwelt  in  the  little  city  of  Nazareth.  We  infer  from  his  con- 
duct towards  Mary  that  he  was  a  mild,  and  tender,  and  pure- 
hearted,  as  well  as  an  upright  man.  Of  his  age  and  personal 
appearance  nothing   is   said.      These  are  the  points  on  which 


Marriage  of  the  Virgin  (Angelico) 

the  Church  has  not  decided,  and  on  which  artists,  left  to  their 
own  devices,  and  led  by  various  opinions,  have  differed  con- 
siderably. 

The  very  early  painters  deemed  it  right  to  represent  Joseph 
as  very  old,  almost  decrepid  with  age,  and  supported  by  a 
crutch.  According  to  some  of  the  monkish  authorities,  he  was 
a  widower,  and  eighty-four  years  old  when  lie  was  espoused  to 
Mary.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  argued  that  such  a  marriage 
would  have  bec'n  quite  contrary  to  the  custom  of  the  Jews; 
and  that  to  defend  Mary  and  to  provide  for  her  celestial  off- 
spring it  was  necessary  that  her  husband  should  be  a  man  of 
mature  age,  but  still  strong  and  robust,  and  able  to  work  at 
his  trade  ;  and  thus,  with  more  propriety  and  better  taste,  the 
later  painters  have  represented  him.  In  the  best  Italian  and 
Spanish  pictures  of  the  Holy  Family  he  is  a  man  of  about 
forty  or  fifty,  with  a  mild  benevolent  countenance,  brown  hair, 


204  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

and  a  short,  curled  beard  ;  the  crutch,  or  stick,  however,  is 
seldom  omitted  ;   it  became  a  conventional  attribute. 

In  the  German  pictures  Joseph  is  not  only  old,  but  appears 
almost  in  a  state  of  dotage,  like  a  lean,  wrinkled  mendicant,  with 
a  bald  head,  a  white  beard,  a  feeble  frame,  and  a  sleepy  or 
stupid  countenance.  Then,  again,  the  late  Italian  painters  have 
erred  as  much  on  the  other  side  ;  for  I  have  seen  pictures  in 
which  St.  Joseph  is  not  only  a  young  man  not  more  than  thirty, 
but  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  received  heads  of  our 
Saviour. 

It  is  in  the  sixteenth  century  that  we  first  find  Joseph  ad- 
vanced to  the  dignity  of  a  saint  in  his  own  right ;  and  in  the 
seventeenth  he  became  very  popular,  especially  in  Spain,  where 
St.  Theresa  had  chosen  him  for  her  patron  saint,  and  had 
placed  her  powerful  Order  of  the  reformed  Carmelites  under 
his  protection.  Hence  the  number  of  pictures  of  that  time, 
which  represent  Joseph  as  the  foster-father  of  Christ,  carry- 
ing the  Infant  on  his  arm,  and  caressing  him,  while  in  the 
other  hand  he  bears  a  lily,  to  express  the  sanctity. and  purity 
of  his  relations  with  the  Virgin. 

The  legend  of  "  the  Marriage  of  Joseph  and  Mary  "  is  thus 
given  in  the  Protevangelion  and  the  History  of  Joseph  the 
Carpenter :  — 

"  When  Mary  was  fourteen  years  old,  the  priest  Zacharias 
(or  Abiathar,  as  he  is  elsewhere  called)  inquired  of  the  Lord 
concerning  her,  what  was  right  to  be.  done ;  and  an  angel  came 
to  him  and  said,  '  Go  forth,  and  call  together  all  the  widowers 
among  the  people,  and  let  each  bring  his  rod  (or  wand)  in  his 
hand,  and  he  to  whom  the  Lord  shall  show  a  sign,  let  him 
be  the  husband  of  Mary.'  And  Zacharias  did  as  the  angel 
commanded,  and  made  proclamation  accordingly.  And  Joseph 
the  carpenter,  a  righteous  man,  throwing  down  his  axe,  and 
taking  his  staff  in  his  hand,  ran  out  with  the  rest.  When  he 
appeared  before  the  priest,  and  presented  his  rod,  lo  !  a  dove 
issued  out  of  it  —  a  dove  dazzling  white  as  the  snow  —  and  after 
settling  on  his  head  flew  towards  heaven.  Then  the  high  priest 
said  to  him,  '  Thou  art  the  person  chosen  to  take  the  Virgin 
of  the  Lord,  and  to  keep  her  for  him.'  And  Joseph  was  at 
first  afraid,  and  drew  back,  but  afterwards  he  took  her  home 


THE   MARRIAGE   OF  THE   VIRGIN  205 

to  his  house,  and  said  to  her,  'Behold,  I  have  taken  thee  from 
the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and  now  I  will  leave  thee  in  my 
house,  for  I  must  go  and  follow  my  trade  of  building.  I  will 
return  to  thee,  and  meanwhile  the  Lord  be  with  thee  and  watch 
over  thee.'  So  Joseph  left  her,  and  Mary  remained  in  her 
house." 

There  is  nothing  said  of  any  marriage  ceremony  ;  some  have 
even  affirmed  that  Mary  was  only  betrothed  to  Joseph,  but 
for  conclusive  reasons  it  remains  a  matter  of  faith  that  she  was 
married  to  him. 

I  must  mention  here  an  old  tradition  cited  by  St.  Jerome, 
and  which  has  been  used  as  a  text  by  the  painters.  The 
various  suitors  who  aspired  to  the  honor  of  marrying  the  con- 
secrated "  Virgin  of  the  Lord,"  among  whom  was  the  son  of 
the  high  priest,  deposited  their  wands  in  the  temple  over 
night,1  and  next  morning  the  rod  of  Joseph  was  found,  like 
the  rod  of  Aaron,  to  have  budded  forth  into  leaves  and  flowers. 
The  other  suitors  thereupon  broke  their  wands  in  rage  and 
despair ;  and  one  among  them,  a  youth  of  noble  lineage,  whose 
name  was  Agabus,  fled  to  Mount  Carmel,  and  became  an  an- 
chorite, that  is  to  say,  a  Carmelite  friar. 

According  to  the  Abbe  Orsini,  who  gives  a  long  description 
of  the  espousals  of  Mary  and  Joseph,  they  returned  after  the 
marriage  ceremony  to  Nazareth,  and  dwelt  in  the  house  of 
St.  Anna. 

Now,  with  regard  to  the  representations,  we  find  that  many 
of  the  early  painters,  and  particularly  the  Italians,  have  care- 
fully attended  to  the  fact,  that,  among  the  Jews,  marriage  was 
a  civil  contract,  not  a  religious  rite.  The  ceremony  takes 
place  in  the  open  air,  in  a  garden,  or  in  a  landscape,  or  in 
front  of  the  temple.  Mary,  as  a  meek  and  beautiful  maiden 
of  about  fifteen,  attended  by  a  train  of  virgins,  stands  on  the 
right;  Joseph,  behind  whom  are  seen  the  disappointed  suitors, 
is  on  the  left.  The  priest  joins  their  hands,  or  -Joseph  is  in 
the  act  of  placing  the  ring  on  the  finger  of  the  bride.  This  is 
the  traditional  arrangement  from  Giotto  down  to  Raphael, 
in  the  series  by  Giotto,  in  the  Arena  at  Padua,  we  have  three 

1  The  suitors  kneeling  with  their  wands  before  the  altar  in  the  temple  is  one 
of  the  series  bv  Giotto  in  the  Arena  at  Padua. 


206  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

scenes  from  the  marriage  legend.  1.  St.  Joseph  and  the  other 
suitors  present  their  wands  to  the  high  priest.  2.  They  kneel 
before  the  altar,  on  which  their  wands  are  deposited,  waiting 
for  the  promised  miracle.  3.  The  marriage  ceremony.  It 
takes  place  before  an  altar  in  the  interior  of  the  temple.  The 
Virgin,  a  most  graceful  figure,  but  rather  too  old,  stands  at- 
tended by  her  maidens ;  St.  Joseph  holds  his  wand  with  the 
flower  and  the  holy  Dove  resting  on  it ;  one  of  the  disappointed 
suitors  is  about  to  strike  him;  another  breaks  his  wand  against 
his  knee.  Taddeo  Gaddi,  Angelico,  Ghirlandajo,  Perugino, 
all  followed  this  traditional  conception  of  the  subject,  except 
that  they  omit  the  altar,  and  place  the  locality  in  the  open 
air,  or  under  a  portico.  Among  the  relics  venerated  in  the 
cathedral  of  Perugia  is  the  nuptial  ring  of  the  blessed  Virgin  ; 
and  for  the  altar  of  the  sacrament  there  Perugino  painted  the 
appropriate  subject  of  the  Marriage  of  the  Virgin.  Here  the 
ceremony  takes  place  under  the  portico  of  the  temple,  and 
Joseph  of  course  puts  the  ring  on  her  finger.  It  is  a  beauti- 
ful composition,  which  has  been  imitated  more  or  less  by  the 
painters  of  the  Perugino  school,  and  often  repeated  in  the  gen- 
eral arrangement.  The  picture  was  carried  off  from  the  church 
by  the  French,  sold  in  France,  and  is  now  to  be  seen  in  the 
Musde  at  Caen. 

But  in  this  subject,  Raphael,  while  yet  a  youth,  excelled  his 
master  and  all  who  had  gone  before  him.  Every  one  knows 
the  famous  "  Sposalizio  of  the  Brera "  [Milan].  It  was 
painted  by  Raphael  in  his  twenty-first  year,  for  the  church  of 
S.  Francesco  in  Citta  di  Castello ;  and  though  he  has  closely 
followed  the  conception  of  his  master,  it  is  modified  by  that 
ethereal  grace  which  even  then  distinguished  him.  Here  Mary 
and  Joseph  stand  in  front  of  the  temple,  the  high  priest  joins 
their  hands,  and  Joseph  places  the  ring  on  the  finger  of  the 
bride  :  he  is  a  man  of  about  thirty,  and  holds  his  wand,  which 
has  blossomed  into  a  lily,  but  there  is  no  dove  upon  it.  Be- 
hind Mary  is  a  group  of  the  virgins  of  the  temple;  behind 
Joseph  the  group  of  disappointed  suitors ;  one  of  whom,  in  the 
act  of  breaking  his  wand  against  his  knee,  a  singularly  grace- 
ful figure,  seen  more  in  front  and  richly  dressed,  is  perhaps 
the  despairing  youth  mentioned  in  the  legend.1     With  some- 

1  In  the  series  by  Giotto  at  Padua,  we  have  the  youth  breaking  his  wand 
across  his  knee. 


MARRIAGE  OF  Mil     \  I  RGIN  <  Kai  hael) 


THE   MARRIAGE   OF   THE   VIRGIN  207 

thing  of  the  formality  of  the  elder  schools,  the  figures  are 
noble  and  dignified  ;  the  countenances  of  the  principal  person- 
ages have  a  characteristic  refinement  and  beauty,  and  a  soft, 
tender  enthusiastic  melancholy,  which  lends  a  peculiar  and 
appropriate  charm  to  the  subject.  In  fact,  the  whole  scene  is 
here  idealized  ;   it  is  like  a  lyric  poem. 

In  Ghirlandajo's  composition  (Florence,  S.  Maria  Novella), 
Joseph  is  an  old  man  with  a  bald  head;  the  architecture  is 
splendid;  the  accessory  figures,  as  is  usual  with  Ghirlandajo, 
are  numerous  and  full  of  grace.  In  the  background  are  musi- 
cians playing  on  the  pipe  and  tabor,  an  incident  which -I  do  not 
recollect  to  have  seen  in  other  pictures. 

The  Sposalizio  by  Girolamo  da  Cotignola  (Bologna  Gallery), 
painted  for  the  church  of  St.  Joseph,  is  treated  quite  in  a 
mystical  style.  Mary  and  Joseph  stand  before  an  altar,  on 
the  steps  of  which  are  seated,  on  one  side  a  prophet,  on  the 
other  a  sibyl. 

By  the  German  painters  the  scene  is  represented  with  a 
characteristic  homely  neglect  of  all  historic  propriety.  The 
temple  is  a  Gothic  church ;  the  altar  has  a  Gothic  altar-piece ; 
Joseph  looks  like  an  old  burgher,  arrayed  in  furs  and  an  em- 
broidered gown  ;  and  the  Virgin  is  richly  dressed  in  the  cos- 
tume of  the  fifteenth  century.  The  suitors  are  often  knights 
and  cavaliers  with  spurs  and  tight  hose. 

It  is  not  said  anywhere  that  St.  Anna  and  St.  Joachim  were 
present  at  the  marriage  of  their  daughter;  hence  they  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  dead  before  it  took  place.  This  has  not 
prevented  some  of  the  old  German  artists  from  introducing 
them,  because,  according  to  their  ideas  of  domestic  propriety, 
they  ought  to  have  been  present. 

I  observe  that  the  later  painters  who  treated  the  subject, 
Rubens  and  Foussin  for  instance,  omit  the  disappointed  suitors. 

After  the  marriage,  or  betrothal,  Joseph  conducts  his  wife 

to  his   house.     The  group  of    the    ret  inning   procession    has 

been   beautifully  treated    in   Giotto's  scries  at    Padua;1   still 

more  beautifully  by  Luini    in   the   fragmenl  of  fresco  now  in 

1  Cappclla  dell'  Arena,  engraved  for  (lie  Arundel  Society. 


208  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

the  Brera  at  Milan.  Here  Joseph  and  Mary  walk  together 
hand  in  hand.  He  looks  at  her,  just  touching  her  fingers  with 
an  air  of  tender  veneration  ;  she  looks  down,  serenely  modest. 
Thus  they  return  together  to  their  humble  home  ;  and  with 
this  scene  closes  the  first  part  of  the  life  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 


THE   ANNUNCIATION 


209 


PART  II.    THE  LIFE  OF  THE  VIRGIN  MARY  FROM  THE 
ANNUNCIATION  TO  THE  RETURN  FROM  EGYPT 


The  Annunciation 

Ilal.  L'  Annunciazione.  La  B.  Vergine  Annunziata.  Fr.  L'An- 
nonciation.  La  Salutation  Angelique.  Gcr.  Die  Verkiindigung. 
Der  englische  Gruss.     (March  25.) 

The  second  part  of  the  life  of  the  Virgin  Mary  begins  with 
the  Annunciation  and  ends  with  the  Crucifixion,  comprising 
all  those  scriptural  incidents  which  connect  her  history  with 
that  of  her  Divine  Son. 

But  to  the  scenes  narrated  in  the  Gospels  the  painters  did 
not  confine  themselves.     Not  only  were  the  simple  Scripture 


Annunciation  (Delia  Robbia) 

histories  colored  throughout  by  the  predominant  and  enthusi- 
astic veneration  paid  to  the  Virgin,  —  till  the  life  of  Christ  was 
absolutely  merged  in  that  of  his  mother,  and  its  various  inci- 
dents became  "  the  seven  joys  and  the  seven  sorrows  of  Mary," 
—  but  we  find  the  artistic  representations  of  her  life  curiously 
embroidered  and  variegated  by  the  introduction  of  traditional 
and  apocryphal  circumstances,  in  most  cases  sanctioned  by  the 
Church  authorities  of  the  time.  However  doubtful  or  repul- 
sive some  of  these  scenes  and  incidents,  we  cannot  call  them 


210  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

absolutely  unmeaning  or  absurd  ;  on  the  contrary,  what  was 
supposed  grew  up  very  naturally,  in  the  vivid  and  excited 
imaginations  of  the  people,  out  of  what  was  recorded  :  nor  did 
they  distinguish  accurately  between  what  they  were  allowed 
and  what  they  were  commanded  to  believe.  Neither  can  it  be 
denied  that  the  traditional  incidents  —  those  at  least  which  we 
find  artistically  treated  —  are  often  singularly  beautiful,  poeti- 
cal, and  instructive.  In  the  hands  of  the  great  religious  artists, 
who  worked  in  their  vocation  with  faith  and  simplicity,  objects 
and  scenes  the  most  familiar  and  commonplace  became  sancti- 
fied and  glorified  by  association  with  what  we  deem  most  holy 
and  most  venerable.  In  the  hands  of  the  later  painters  the 
result  was  just  the  reverse  —  what  was  most  spiritual,  most 
hallowed,  most  elevated,  became  secularized,  materialized,  and 
shockingly  degraded. 

No  subject  has  been  more  profoundly  felt  and  more  beauti- 
fully handled  by  the  old  painters,  nor  more  vilely  mishandled 
by  the  moderns,  than  the  Annunciation,  of  all  the  scenes  in 
the  life  of  Mary  the  most  important  and  the  most  commonly 
met  with.  Considered  merely  as  an  artistic  subject,  it  is  surely 
eminently  beautiful :  it  places  before  us  the  two  most  graceful 
forms  which  the  hand  of  man  was  ever  called  on  to  delineate  ; 
—  the  winged  spirit  fresh  from  Paradise;  the  woman  not  less 
pure,  and  even  more  highly  blessed  —  the  chosen  vessel  of 
redemption,  and  the  personification  of  all  female  loveliness,  all 
female  excellence,  all  wisdom,  and  all  purity. 

We  find  the  Annunciation,  like  many  other  scriptural  inci- 
dents, treated  in  two  ways  —  as  a  mystery  and  as  an  event. 
Taken  in  the  former  sense,  it  became  the  expressive  symbol  of 
a  momentous  article  of  faith,  The  Incarnation  of  the  Deity. 
Taken  in  the  later  sense,  it  represented  the  announcement  of 
salvation  to  mankind,  through  the  direct  interposition  of  mirac- 
ulous power.  In  one  sense  or  the  other,  it  enters  into  every 
scheme  of  ecclesiastical  decoration  ;  but  chiefly  it  is  set  before 
us  as  a  great  and  awful  mystery,  of  which  the  two  figures  of 
Gabriel,  the  angel  messenger,  and  Mary  the  "  highly-favored," 
placed  in  relation  to  each  other,  became  the  universally  ac- 
cepted symbol,  rather  than  the  representation. 


THE   ANNUNCIATION 


211 


The  Annunciation  as  a  Mystery 

Considering  the  importance  given  to  the  Annunciation  in 
its  mystical  sense,  it  is  strange  that  we  do  not  find  it  among 
the  very  ancient  symbolical  subjects  adopted  in  the  first  ages 
of  Christian  Art.  It  does  not  appear  on  the  sarcophagi,  nor 
in   the  early  Greek  carvings  and   diptychs,  nor   in  the  early 


Annunciation  (attributed  to  Stephen  Lothener) 

mosaics  —  except  once,  and  then  as  a  part  of  the  history  of 
Christ,  not  as  a  symbol ;  nor  can  we  trace  the  mystical  treat- 
ment of  this  subject  higher  than  the  eleventh  century,  when  it 
first  appears  in  the  Gothic  sculpture  and  stained  glass.  In 
the  thirteenth,  and  thenceforward,  the  Annunciation  appears 
before  us  as  the  expression  in  form  of  a  theological  dogma, 
everywhere  conspicuous.  It  became  a  primal  element  in  every 
combination  of  sacred  representations  —  the  corner-stone,  as  it 
were,  of  every  architectural  system  of  religious  decoration.      It 


212  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

formed  a  part  of  every  altar-piece,  either  in  sculpture  or  paint- 
ing. Sometimes  the  Virgin  stands  on  one  side  of  the  altar, 
the  angel  on  the  other,  carved  in  marble  or  alabaster,  or  of 
wood  richly  painted  and  gilt ;  or  even,  as  I  have  seen  in  some 
instances,  of  solid  silver.  Not  seldom  we  find  the  two  figures 
placed  in  niches  against  the  pillars,  or  on  pedestals  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  choir.  It  was  not  necessary,  when  thus  symbol- 
ically treated,  to  place  the  two  figures  in  proximity  to  signify 
their  relation  to  each  other  ;  they  are  often  divided  by  the 
whole  breadth  of  the  chancel. 

Whatever  the  subject  of  the  altar-piece,  —  whether  the  Na- 
tivity, or  the  enthroned  Madonna,  or  the  Coronation,  or  the 
Crucifixion,  or  the  Last  Supper,  —  the  Annunciation  almost 
invariably  formed  part  of  the  decoration,  inserted  either  into 
the  spandrils  of  the  arches  above,  or  in  the  predella  below ;  or, 
which  is  very  common,  painted  or  carved  on  the  doors  of  a 
tabernacle  or  triptychon. 

If  the  figures  are  full  length,  a  certain  symmetry  being  re- 
quired, they  are  either  both  standing  or  both  kneeling ;  it  is 
only  in  later  times  that  the  Virgin  sits  and  the  angel  kneels. 
When  disposed  in  circles  or  semicircles,  they  are  often  merely 
busts,  or  half-length  figures,  separated  perhaps  by  a  framework 
of  tracery,  or  set  on  each  side  of  the  principal  subject,  what- 
ever that  may  be.  Hence  it  is  that  we  so  often  find,  in  gal- 
leries and  collections,  pictures  of  the  Annunciation  in  two 
separate  parts,  the  angel  in  one  frame,  the  Virgin  in  another ; 
and  perhaps  the  two  pictures,  thus  disunited,  may  have  found 
their  way  into  different  countries  and  different  collections  — 
the  Virgin  being  in  Italy,  and  the  angel  in  England. 

Sometimes  the  Annunciation  —  still  as  a  mystical  subject  — 
forms  an  altar-piece  of  itself.  In  many  Roman  Catholic  churches 
there  is  a  chapel  or  an  altar  dedicated  expressly  to  the  mystery 
of  the  Annunciation,  the  subject  forming  of  course  the  principal 
decoration.  At  Florence  there  is  a  church  —  one  of  the  most 
splendid  and  interesting  of  its  many  beautiful  edifices  —  dedi- 
cated to  the  Annunciation,  or  rather  to  the  Virgin  in  her 
especial  character  and  dignity  as  the  Instrument  of  the  Incar- 
nation, and  thence  styled  the  Church  della  Santissima  Nun- 
ziata.  The  fine  mosaic  of  the  Annunciation  by  [David]  Grhir- 
landajo  is  placed  over  the  principal  entrance.  Of  this  church, 
and  of  the  order   of  the   Servi,  to  whom  it  belongs,  I  have 


THE   ANNUNCIATION 


213 


Annunciation  (Lorenzo  Monaco) 


already  spoken  at  length  [in  the  Legends  of  the  Monastic 
Orders].  Here,  in  the  first  chapel  on  the  left,  as  we  enter,  is 
to  be  found  the  miraculous  picture  of  the  Annunciation,  for- 
merly held  in  such  veneration,  not  merely  by  all  Florence,  but 
all  Christendom, — found,  but  not  seen,  for  it  is  still  con- 
cealed from  profane  eyes,  and  exhibited  to  the  devout  only  on 
great  occasions.  The  name  of  the  painter  is  disputed  ;  but  ac- 
cording to  tradition  it  is  the  work  of  a  certain  Iiartolommeo ; 1 
who  while  he  sat  meditating  on  the  various  excellences  and 
perfections  of    our  Lady,   and   most  especially  on  her  divine 

1  [By  others  it  is  attributed  to  Piero  Cavallini,  a  disciple  of  Giotto.     There  is 
a  repetition,  also  by  Cavallini,  in  the  church  of  San  Mann.] 


214  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

beauty,  and  thinking,  with  humility,  how  inadequate  were  his 
own  powers  to  represent  her  worthily,  fell  asleep  ;  and  on 
awaking  found  the  head  of  the  Virgin  had  been  wondrously 
completed,  either  by  the  hand  of  an  angel,  or  by  that  of  St. 
Luke,  who  had  descended  from  heaven  on  purpose.  Though 
this  curious  relic  has  been  frequently  restored,  no  one  has  pre- 
sumed to  touch  the  features  of  the  Virgin,  which  are,  I  am 
told  —  for  I  have  never  been  blessed  with  a  sight  of  the 
original  picture  —  marvellously  sweet  and  beautiful.  It  is 
concealed  by  a  veil,  on  which  is  painted  a  tine  head  of  the 
Redeemer  by  Andrea  del  Sarto  ;  and  forty-two  lamps  of  silver 
burn  continually  round  it. 

It  is  evident  that  the  Annunciation,  as  a  mystery,  admits  of 
a  style  of  treatment  which  would  not  be  allowable  in  sthe  rep- 
resentation of  an  event.  In  the  former  case,  the  artist  is 
emancipated  from  all  considerations  of  locality  or  circumstance. 
Whether  the  background  be  of  gold,  or  of  blue,  or  star-be- 
spangled sky  — a  mere  curtain,  or  a  temple  of  gorgeous  archi- 
tecture ;  whether  the  accessories  be  the  most  simple  or  the 
most  elaborate,  the  most  real  or  the  most  ideal ;  all  this  is  of 
little  moment,  and  might  be  left  to  the  imagination  of  the  ar- 
tist, or  might  be  modified  according  to  the  conditions  imposed 
by  the  purpose  of  the  representation  and  the  material  em- 
ployed, so  long  as  the  chief  object  is  fulfilled  —  the  significant 
expression  of  an  abstract  dogma,  appealing  to  the  faith,  not  to 
the  senses  or  the  understanding,  of  the  observer. 

To  this  class,  then,  belong  all  those  church  images  and  pic- 
tures of  the  Annunciation,  either  confined  to  the  two  person- 
ages, with  just  sufficient  of  attitude  and  expression  to  place 
them  in  relation  to  each  other,  or  with  such  accompaniments 
as  served  to  carry  out  the  mystical  idea,  still  keeping  it  as  far 
as  possible  removed  from  the  region  of  earthly  possibilities. 

In  the  fifteenth  century  —  that  age  of  mysticism  —  we  find 
the  Annunciation  not  merely  treated  as  an  abstract  religious 
emblem,  but  as  £  sort  of  divine  allegory  or  poem,  which  in 
old  French  and  Flemish  Art  is  clothed  in  the  quaintest,  the 
most  curious  forms.  1  recollect  going  into  a  church  at  Bres- 
lau  and  finding  over  one  of  the  altars  a  most  elaborate  carving 
in  wood  of  the  Annunciation!  Mary  is  seated  within  a  Gothic 
porch  of  open  tracery  work  ;  a  unicorn   takes   refuge   in   her 


THE   ANNUNCIATION  215 

bosom  ;  outside,  a  kneeling  angel  winds  a  hunting-horn  ;  three 
or  four  dogs  are  crouching  near  him.  I  looked  and  wondered. 
At  first  I  could  make  nothing  of  this  singular  allegory  ;  but 
afterwards  found  the  explanation  in  a  learned  French  work  on 
the  "  Stalles  d' Amiens."  I  give  the  original  passage,  for  it 
will  assist  the  reader  to  the  comprehension  of  many  curious 
works  of  Art ;   but  I  do  not  venture  to  translate  it. 

"  On  sait  qu'au  xvie  siecle,  le  mystere  de  l'Incarnation  dtoit 
souvent  repre'sente  par  une  alle'gorie  ainsi  conc,ue  :  Une  licorne 
se  re'fugiant  au  sein  d'une  vierge  pure,  quatre  ldvriers  la  pres- 
sant  d'une  course  rapide,  un  veneur  ailt;  sonnant  de  la  trom- 
pette.  La  science  de  la  zoologie  mystique  du  temps  aide  a.  en 
trouver  l'explication  ;  le  fahuleux  animal  dont  l'unique  come 
ne  blessait  que  pour  purger  de  tout  venin  l'endroit  du  corps 
qu'elle  avoit  touche,  figuroit  Je'sus-Christ,  medecin  et  sauveur 
des  times ;  on  donnait  aux  levriers  agiles  les  noms  de  Miseri- 
cordia,  Veritas,  Justitia,  Pax,  les  quatre  raisons  qui  ont  presse 
le  Verbe  eternel  de  sortir  de  son  repos ;  mais  comme  c'etoit 
par  la  Vierge  Marie  qu'il  avoit  voulu  descendre  parmi  les 
homines  et  se  mettre  en  leur  puissance,  on  croyoit  ne  pouvoir 
mieux  faire  que  de  choisir  dans  la  fable  le  fait  d'une  pucelle 
pouvant  seule  servir  de  piege  h.  la  licorne,  en  l'attirant  par  le 
charme  et  le  parfum  de  son  sein  virginal  qu'elle  lui  presentoit ; 
enfin  l'ange  Gabriel  concourant  au  mystere  etoit  bien  recon- 
noissable  sous  les  traits  du  veneur  aile  laimant  les  levriers  et 
embouchant  la  trompette."  [It  is  well  known  that  in  the 
sixteenth  century  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation  was  often 
represented  by  an  allegory  conceived  in  this  wise :  A  unicorn 
fleeing  to  the  bosom  of  a  pure  virgin,  four  hounds  pursuing 
it  in  rapid  chase,  a  winged  huntsman  sounding  the  trumpet. 
The  mystical  zoological  science  of  the  time  helps  us  to  the 
explanation  :  the  fabulous  animal  whose  single  horn  wounded 
(inly  to  cleanse  from  all  poison  the  part  of  the  body  which  it 
had  touched,  symbolized  Jesus  Christ,  Physician  and  Saviour 
of  souls;  to  the  fleet  hounds  were  given  the  names  of  Miseri- 
cordia,  Veritas,  .Justitia,  Pax,  the  four  reasons  which  aroused 
the  Eternal  Word  from  his  rest ;  but  as  it  was  by  the  Virgin  Mary 
that  lie  hail  chosen  to  descend  among  men  and  put  himself  in 
their  power,  it  was  thought  best  to  choose  in  the  fable  a  maiden, 
who  could  alone  snare  the  unicorn,  drawing  it  by  the  charm 
and   perfume  of  her  Virgin  breast  which  she  presented  to  it. 


216  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

The  angel  Gabriel  connected  with  the  mystery  was  easily  rec- 
ognizable in  the  guise  of  the  winged  huntsman  urging  the 
hounds  and  winding  the  trumpet.] 

It  appears  that  this  was  an  accepted  religious  allegory,  as 
familiar  in  the  sixteenth  century  as  those  of  Spenser's  Faerie 
Queene  or  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  are  to  us.  I  have  since 
found  it  frequently  reproduced  in  the  old  French  and  German 
prints  : 1  there  is  a  specimen  in  the  British  Museum  ;  and  there 
is  a  picture  similarly  treated  in  the  Musee  at  Amiens.  I  have 
never  seen  it  in  an  Italian  picture  or  print ;  unless  a  print 
after  Guido,  wherein  a  beautiful  maiden  is  seated  under  a  tree, 
and  a  unicorn  has  sought  refuge  in  her  lap,  be  intended  to 
convey  the  same  far-fetched  allegory. 

Very  common,  however,  in  Italian  Art  is  a  less  fantastic 
but  still  wholly  poetical  version  of  the  Annunciation,  repre- 
senting, in  fact,  not  the  Annunciation,  but  the  Incarnation. 
Thus  in  a  picture,  in  the  Brera,  Milan,  by  Giovanni  Sanzio  (the 
father  of  Raphael),  Mary  stands  under  a  splendid  portico ;  she 
appears  as  if  just  risen  from  her  seat ;  her  hands  are  meekly 
folded  over  her  bosom  ;  her  head  declined.  The  angel  kneels 
outside  the  portico,  holding  forth  his  lily  ;  while  above,  in  the 
heavens,  the  Padre  Eterno  sends  forth  the  Redeemer,  who,  in 
the  form  of  the  infant  Christ  bearing  his  cross,  floats  down- 
wards towards  the  earth,  preceded  by  the  mystic  Dove.  This 
manner  of  representing  the  Incarnation  is  strongly  disapproved 
of  by  the  Abbe  Mery,2  as  not  only  an  error,  but  a  heresy ; 
yet  it  was  frequently  repeated  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  Annunciation  is  also  a  mystery  when  certain  emblems 
are  introduced  conveying  a  certain  signification  ;  as  when  Mary 
is  seated  on  a  throne,  wearing  a  radiant  crown  of  mingled 
gems  and  flowers,  and  receives  the  message  of  the  angel  with 
all  the  majesty  that  could  be  expressed  by  the  painter ;  or  is 
seated  in  a  garden  inclosed  by  a  hedge  of  roses  (the  Hortiis 
clausus  or  conclusus  of  the  Canticles)  :  or  where  the  angel 
holds  in  his  hands  the  sealed  book,  as  in  the  famous  altar-piece 
at  Cologne. 

In  a  picture  by  Simone  Memmi  (Uffizi,  Florence),  the  Virgin 

1  [There  is  also  in  Weimar  an  old  German  painting  of  the  subject  to  which 
Mr.  Henry  van  Dyke  refers  in  the  Christ-Child  in  Art.] 

2  Vide  Theuloyie  des  lJeintres. 


ANNUNC1  VTION  i  Bartoi.ommeo) 


THE   ANNUNCIATION  217 

seated  on  a  Gothic  throne  receives,  as  the  higher  and  supe- 
rior being,  yet  with  a  shrinking  timidity,  the  salutation  of  the 
angel,  who  conies  as  the  messenger  of  peace,  olive-crowned, 
and  bearing  a  branch  of  olive  in  his  hand.  This  poetical  version 
is  very  characteristic  of  the  early  Siena  school,  in  which  we 
often  find  a  certain  fanciful  and  original  way  of  treating  well- 
known  subjects.  Taddeo  Bartolo,  another  Sienese,  and  Martin 
Schoen,  the  most  poetical  of  the  early  Germans,  also  adopted 
the  olive  sjunbol  ;  and  we  find  it  also  in  the  tabernacle  of  King 
Bene',  already  described. 

The  treatment  is  clearly  devotional  and  ideal  where  attend- 
ant saints  and  votaries  stand  or  kneel  around,  contemplating 
witli  devout  gratitude  or  ecstatic  wonder  the  divine  mystery. 
Thus,  in  a  remarkable  and  most  beautiful  picture  by  Fra  Bar- 
tolommeo  [Louvre],  the  Virgin  is  seated  on  her  throne  ;  the 
angel  descends  from  on  high  bearing  his  lily ;  around  the 
throne  attend  St.  John  the  Baptist  and  St.  Francis,  St.  Jerome, 
St.  Paul,  and  St.  Margaret.  Again,  in  a  very  beautiful  pic- 
ture by  Francia  [in  the  Bologna  Gallery],  Mary  stands  in  the 
midst  of  an  open  landscape  ;  her  hands,  folded  over  each  other, 
press  to  her  bosom  a  book  closed  and  clasped :  St.  Jerome 
stands  on  the  right,  John  the  Baptist  on  the  left ;  both  look 
up  with  a  devout  expression  to  the  angel  descending  from 
above.  In  both  these  examples  Mary  is  very  nobly  and  ex- 
pressively represented  as  the  chosen  and  predestined  vehicle 
of  human  redemption.  It  is  not  here  the  Annunciation,  but 
the  "  Sacratissima  Annunziata,"  we  see  before  us.  In  a  curi- 
ous picture  by  Francesco  da  Cotignola,1  Mary  stands  on  a 
sculptured  pedestal,  in  the  midst  of  an  architectural  decoration 
of  many-colored  marbles,  most  elaborately  painted  ;  through 
an  opening  is  seen  a  distant  landscape,  and  the  blue  sky  ;  on 
her  right  stands  St.  John  the  Baptist,  pointing  upwards;  on 
her  left,  St.  Francis,  adoring ;  the  votary  kneels  in  front. 
(Berlin  Gallery.)  Votive  pictures  of  the  Annunciation  were 
frequently  expressive  offerings  from  those  who  desired,  or  those 
who  had  received,  tie'  Messing  of  an  heir;  and  this  I  take  to 
be  an  instance. 

In  the  following  example  the  picture  is  votive  in  another 
sense,  and  altogether  poetical.  The  Virgin  .Mary  receives  the 
message  of  the  angel,  as  usual  ;  but  before  her,  at  a  little  dis- 
1  [The  catalogue  name  of  this  artist  is  Zagauelli.] 


218 


HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 


tance,  kneels  the  Cardinal  Torrecremata,  who  presents  three 
young  girls,  also  kneeling,  to  one  of  whom  the  Virgin  gives  a 
purse  of  money.  This  curious  and  beautiful  picture  becomes 
intelligible  when  we  find  that  it  was  painted  for  a  charitable 
community,  instituted  by  Torrecremata,  for  educating  and  en- 


Annunciation  (Angelico) 

dowing  poor  orphan  girls,  and  styled  the  "  Confraternity  dell' 
Annunziata."  (Benozzo  Gozzoli,  in  S.  Maria  sopra  Minerva, 
Rome.) 

In  this  charming  Annunciation  by  Angelico  [San  Marco, 
Florence],  the  scene  is  in  the  cloister  of  his  own  convent  of 
St.  Mark.  A  Dominican  (St.  Peter  Martyr)  stands  in  the 
background  with  hands  folded  in  prayer.  I  might  add  many 
beautiful  examples  from  Fra  Bartolommeo,  and  in  sculpture 
from  Benedetto  Maiano,  Luca  della  Robbia,  and  others,  but 
have  said  enough  to  enable  the  observer  to  judge  of  the  inten- 


THE   ANNUNCIATION  219 

tion  of  the  artist.  The  Annunciation  by  Sansovino,  among 
the  bas-reliefs  which  cover  the  chapel  at  Loretto,  is  of  great 
elegance. 

1  must,  however,  notice  one  more  picture.  Of  six  Annun- 
ciations painted  by  Rubens,  five  represent  the  event;  the  sixth 
is  one  of  his  magnificent  and  most  palpable  allegories,  all  glow- 
ing with  life  and  reality.  Here  Mary  kneels  on  the  summit 
of  a  flight  of  steps ;  a  dove,  encompassed  by  cherubim,  hovers 
over  her  head.  Before  her  kneels  the  celestial  messenger; 
behind  him  Moses  and  Aaron,  with  David  and  other  patri- 
archal ancestors  of  Christ.  In  the  clouds  above  is  seen  the 
heavenly  Father ;  on  his  right  are  two  female  figures,  Peace 
and  Reconciliation  ;  on  his  left,  angels  bear  the  ark  of  the 
covenant.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  picture  stand  Isaiah  and 
Jeremiah,  with  four  sibyls,  thus  connecting  the  prophecies 
of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  promises  made  to  the  Gentile 
nations  through  the  sibyls,  with  the  fulfilment  of  both  in  the 
message  from  on  high. 

The  Annunciation  as  an  Event 

Had  the  Annunciation  to  Mary  been  merely  mentioned  as 
an  awful  and  incomprehensible  vision,  it  would  have  been 
better  to  have  adhered  to  the  mystical  style  of  treatment,  or 
left  it  alone  altogether ;  but  the  Scripture  history,  by  giving 
the  whole  narration  as  a  simple  fact,  a  real  event,  left  it  free 
for  representation  as  such  ;  and,  as  such,  the  fancy  of  the  artist 
was  to  be  controlled  and  limited  only  by  the  words  of  Scrip- 
ture, as  commonly  understood  and  interpreted,  and  by  those 
proprieties  of  time,  place,  and  circumstance  which  would  be 
required  in  the  representation  of  any  other  historical  incident 
or  action. 

When  all  the  accompaniments  show  that  nothing  more  was 
in  the  mind  of  the  artist  than  the  aim  to  exhibit  an  incident 
in  the  life  of  the  Virgin,  or  an  introduction  to  that  of  our 
Lord,  the  representation  is  do  longer  mystical  and  devotional, 
but  historical.  The  story  was  to  lie  told  with  all  the  fidelity, 
or  at  least  all  the  likelihood,  that  was  possible;  and  it  is  clear 
that,  in  tin-  case,  the  subject  admitted,  and  even  required,  a 
more  dramatic  treatment,  with  such  accessories  and  accompani- 
ments as  might  bring  the  scene  within  the  sphere  of  the  actual. 


220  HISTOEICAL   SUBJECTS 

In  this  sense  it  is  not  to  be  mistaken.  Although  the  action  is 
of  itself  so  very  simple,  and  the  actors  confined  to  two  persons, 
it  is  astonishing  to  note  the  infinite  variations  of  which  this 
favorite  theme  has  been  found  susceptible.  Whether  all  these 
be  equally  appropriate  and  laudable  is  quite  another  question ; 
and  in  how  far  the  painters  have  truly  interpreted  the  Scrip- 
tural narration  is  now  to  be  considered. 

And  first  with  regard  to  the  time,  which  is  not  especially 
mentioned.  It  was  presumed  by  the  Fathers  and  early  com- 
mentators on  Scripture,  that  the  Annunciation  must  have  taken 
place  in  early  springtime,  at  eventide,  soon  after  sunset,  the 
hour  since  consecrated  as  the  "  Ave  Maria,"  as  the  bell  which 
announces  it  is  called  the  "  Angelus  ;  "  1  but  other  authorities 
say  that  it  was  rather  at  midnight,  because  the  nativity  of  our 
Lord  took  place  at  the  corresponding  hour  in  the  following 
December.  This  we  find  exactly  attended  to  by  many  of  the 
old  painters,  and  indicated  either  by  the  moon  and  stars  in  the 
sky,  or  by  a  taper  or  a  lamp  burning  near. 

With  regard  to  the  locality,  we  are  told  by  St.  Luke  that 
the  angel  Gabriel  was  sent  from  God,  and  that  "  he  came  in 
to  Mary  "  (Luke  i.  28),  which  seems  to  express  that  she  was 
within  her  house. 

In  describing  the  actual  scene  of  the  interview  between  the 
angel  and  Mary,  the  legendary  story  of  the  Virgin  adheres 
very  closely  to  the  scriptural  text.  But  it  also  relates,  that 
Mary  went  forth  at  evening  to  draw  water  from  the  fountain ; 
that  she  heard  a  voice  which  said,  "  Hail,  thou  that  art  full 
of  grace  !  "  and  thereupon,  being  troubled,  she  looked  to  the 
right  and  to  the  left,  and,  seeing  no  one,  returned  to  her  house, 
and  sat  down  to  her  work.  (Protevangelion,  ix.  7.)  Had 
any  exact  attention  been  paid  to  oriental  customs.  Mary  might 
have  been  working  or  reading  or  meditating  on  the  roof  of  her 

1  So  Lord  Byron :  — 

Ave  Maria!  blessed  be  the  hour! 

The  time,  the  clime,  the  spot,  where  I  so  oft 
Have  felt  that  moment  in  its  fullest  power 

Sink  o'er  the  earth  so  beautiful  and  soft, 
■\Vliile  swung  the  dpep  bell  in  the  distant  tower, 

Or  the  faint  dj'ing  day-hymn  stole  aloft, 
And  not  a  breath  crept  through  thp  rosy  air, 
And  yet  the  forest  leaves  seemed  stirred  with  prayer. 


THE    ANNUNCIATION 


221 


Annunciation  (Van  Eyck) 


house ;  but  this  has  not  suggested  itself  in  any  instance  that  I 
can  remember.  We  have,  as  the  scene  of  the  interview,  an  inte- 
rior which  is  sometimes  like  an  oratory,  sometimes  a  portico 
with  open  arcades;  but  more  generally  a  bedroom.  The  pov- 
erty of  Joseph  and  Mary,  and  their  humble  condition  in  life, 
are  sometimes  attended  to,  but  not  always;  for,  according  to 
one  tradition,  the  house  at  Nazareth  was  that  which  Mary  had 
inherited  from  her  parents,  Joachim  and  Anna,  who  were 
people  of  substance.  Hence,  the  painters  had  an  excuse  for 
making  the  chamber  richly  furnished,  the  portico  sustained  by 
marble  pillars,  or  decorated  with  sculpture,  in  the  German 
and  Flemish  pictures,  the  artist,  true  to  the  national  charac- 
teristic of  naive  and   literal    illustration,   gives   us  a   German 


222  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

or  a  Gothic  chamber,  with  a  lattice  window  of  small  panes  of 
glass,  and  a  couch  with  pillows,  or  a  comfortable  four-post 
bedstead  furnished  with  draperies,  thus  imparting  to  the  whole 
scene  an  air  of  the  most  vivid  homely  reality. 

As  for  the  accessories,  the  most  usual,  almost  indispensable, 
is  the  pot  of  lilies,  the  symbolical  Fleur  de  Marie,  which  I 
have  already  explained  at  length.  There  is  also  a  basket 
containing  needlework  and  implements  of  female  industry,  as 
scissors,  etc.,  not  merely  to  express  Mary's  habitual  industry, 
but  because  it  is  related  that  when  she  returned  to  her  house 
"  she  took  the  purple  linen,  and  sat  down  to  work  it."  The 
workbasket  is  therefore  seldom  omitted.  Sometimes  a  distaff 
lies  at  her  feet,  as  in  Raphael's  Annunciation.  In  old  German 
pictures  we  have  often  a  spinning-wheel.  To  these  emblems 
of  industry  is  often  added  a  basket,  or  a  dish,  containing  fruit ; 
and  near  it  a  pitcher  of  water,  to  express  the  temperance  of 
the  blessed  Virgin. 

There  is  grace  and  meaning  in  the  introduction  of  birds, 
always  emblems  of  the  spiritual.  Titian  places  a  tame  par- 
tridge at  the  feet  of  Mary,  which  expresses  her  tenderness  ; 
but  the  introduction  of  a  cat,  as  in  Baroccio's  picture,  is  insuf- 
ferable. 

The  Archangel  Gabriel,  "  one  of  those  who  stand  continually 
in  the  presence  of  God,"  having  received  his  mission,  descends 
to  earth.  In  the  very  earliest  representation  of  the  Annun- 
ciation as  an  event,  in  a  mosaic  at  S.  Maria  Maggiore,  Rome, 
we  have  this  descent  of  the  winged  spirit  from  on  high  ;  and 
I  have  seen  other  instances.  There  is  a  small  and  beautiful 
sketch  by  Garofalo  (Alton  Towers),1  in  which,  from  amidst  a 
flood  of  light  and  a  choir  of  celestial  spirits,  such  as  Milton 
describes  as  adoring  the  "  divine  sacrifice  "  proclaimed  for  sin- 
ful man  (Paradise  Lost,  book  iii.),  the  archangel  spreads  his 
lucid  wings,  and  seems  just  about  to  take  his  flight  to  Naza- 
reth. He  was  accompanied,  says  the  Italian  legend,  by  a  train 
of  lower  angels,  anxious  to  behold  and  reverence  their  Queen  ; 
these  remained,  however,  at  the  door,  or  "  before  the  gate," 
while  Gabriel  entered. 

The  old  German  masters  are  fond  of  representing  him  as 
entering  by  a  door  in  the  background  ;  while  the  serene  Virgin, 
1  [The  Alton  Towers  collection  was  dispersed  in  a  sale  in  1857.] 


THE   ANNUNCIATION 


223 


seated  in  front,  seems  aware  of  his  presence   without   seeing 
him. 

In  some  of  the  old  pictures  he  comes  in  flying  from  above, 
or  he  is  upborne  by  an  effulgent  cloud,  and  surrounded  by  a 
glory  which  lights  the  whole  picture  —  a  really  celestial  mes- 
senger,  as    in  a    fresco    by    Spinello  Aretino.      In   others,   he 


Annunciation  (Albert  Diirer) 

comes  gliding  in,  "smooth  sliding  without  step;"  sometimes 
he  enters  like  a  heavenly  ambassador,  and  little  angels  hold 
up  his  train.  In  a  picture  by  Tintoretto  he  comes  rushing  in 
as  upon  a  whirlwind,  followed  by  a  legion  of  lesser  angels; 
while  on  the  outside  of  the  building  Joseph  the  carpenter  is 
seen  quietly  at  his  work.     (Venice,  school  of  S.  Rocco.) 


224  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

But,  whether  walking  or  flying,  Gabriel  hears,  of  course,  the 
conventional  angelic  form,  that  of  the  human  creature,  winged, 
beautiful,  and  radiant  with  eternal  youth,  yet  with  a  grave 
and  serious  mien.  In  the  later  pictures  the  drapery  given  to 
the  angel  is  offensively  scanty  ;  his  sandals,  and  bare  arms,  and 
fluttering  robe  too  much  a  I'antique  ;  he  comes  in  the  atti- 
tude of  a  flying  Mercury,  or  a  dancer  in  a  ballet.  But  in  the 
early  Italian  pictures  his  dress  is  arranged  with  a  kind  of  sol- 
emn propriety  :  it  is  that  of  an  acolyte,  white  and  full,  and 
falling  in  large  folds  over  his  arms,  and  in  general  concealing 
his  feet.  In  the  German  pictures,  he  often  wears  the  priestly 
robe,  richly  embroidered,  and  clasped  in  front  by  a  jewel.  His 
ambrosial  curls  fall  over  this  cope  in  "  hyacinthine  flow."  The 
wings  are  essential,  and  never  omitted.  They  are  white  or 
many-colored,  eyed  like  the  peacock's  train,  or  bedropped  with 
gold.  He  usually  bears  the  lily  in  his  hand,  but  not  always. 
Sometimes  it  is  the  sceptre,  the  ancient  attribute  of  a  herald  ; 
and  this  has  a  scroll  around  it  with  the  words,  "  Ave  Maria, 
gratia  plena !  "  The  sceptre  or  wand  is  occasionally  sur- 
mounted by  a  cross  [as  in  Diirer's  picture  in  the  series,  "  Life  of 
the  Virgin"]. 

In  general,  the  palm  is  given  to  the  angel  who  announces 
the  death  of  Mary.  In  one  or  two  instances  only  I  have 
seen  the  palm  given  to  the  angel  Gabriel,  as  in  a  predella  by 
Angelico ;  for  which,  however,  the  painter  had  the  authority 
of  Dante,  or  Dante  some  authority  earlier  still.  He  says  of 
Gabriel,  — 

That  he  bore  the  palm 
Down  unto  Man-  when  the  Son  of  God 
Vouchsafed  to  clothe  him  in  terrestial  weeds. 

The  olive-bough  has  a  mystical  sense  wherever  adopted ;  it 
is  the  symbol  of  peace  on  earth.  Often  the  angel  bears  neither 
lily,  nor  sceptre,  nor  palm,  nor  olive.  His  hands  are  folded 
on  his  bosom  ;  or,  with  one  hand  stretched  forth,  and  the  other 
pointing  upwards,  he  declares  his  mission  from  on  high. 

In  the  old  Greek  pictures,  and  in  the  most  ancient  Italian 
examples,  the  angel  stands,  as  in  [a  composition]  after  Cima- 
bue,  wherein  the  Greek  model  is  very  exactly  followed.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Iloman  Catholic  belief,  Mary  is  queen  of  heaven 
and  of  angels  —  the  superior  being;  consequently  there  is  pro- 
priety in  making  the  angel  deliver  his  message,  kneeling  :   but 


THE   ANNUNCIATION  225 

even  according  to  the  Protestant  belief  the  attitude  would  not 
be  unbecoming,  for  the  angel,  having  uttered  his  salutation, 
might  well  prostrate  himself  as  witness  of  the  transcending 
miracle,  and  beneath  the  overshadowing  presence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

Now,  as  to  the  attitude  and  occupation  of  Mary  at  the  mo- 
ment the  angel  entered,  authorities  are  not  agreed.  It  is  usual 
to  exhibit  her  as  kneeling  in  prayer,  or  reading  with  a  large 
book  open  on  a  desk  before  her.  St.  Bernard  says  that  she 
was  studying  the  book  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  and  as  she  recited 
the  verse,  "  Behold,  a  Virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  son,"  she 
thought  within  her  heart,  in  her  great  humility,  "  How  blessed 
the  woman  of  whom  these  words  are  written !  "Would  I  might 
be  but  her  handmaid  to  serve  her,  and  allowed  to  kiss  her 
feet !  "  —  when,  in  the  same  instant,  the  wondrous  vision  burst 
upon  her,  and  the  holy  prophecy  was  realized  in  herself.1 

I  think  it  is  a  manifest  fault  to  disturb  the  sublime  tenor  of 
the  scene  by  representing  Mary  as  starting  up  in  alarm  ;  for, 
in  the  first  place,  she  was  accustomed,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the 
perpetual  ministry  of  angels,  who  daily  and  hourly  attended 
on  her.  It  is,  indeed,  said  that  Mary  was  troubled  ;  but  it 
was  not  the  presence,  but  the  "  saying,"  of  the  angel  which 
troubled  her :  it  was  the  question  "  how  this  should  be  ? " 
(Luke  i.  29.)  The  attitude,  therefore,  which  some  painters 
have  given  to  her,  as  if  she  had  started  from  her  seat,  not  only 
in  terror,  but  in  indignation,  is  altogether  misplaced.  A  signal 
instance  is  the  statue  of  the  Virgin  by  Mocchi  in  the  choir  of 
the  cathedral  at  Orvieto,  so  grand  in  itself,  and  yet  so  offensive 
as  a  devotional  figure.  Misplaced  is  also,  I  think,  the  sort  of 
timid  shrinking  surprise  which  is  the  expression  in  some  pic- 
tures. The  moment  is  much  too  awful,  the  expectance  much 
too  sublime,  for  any  such  human  girlish  emotions.  If  the 
painter  intend  to  express  the  moment  in  which  the  angel 
appears  and  utters  the  salutation  "Hail  !"  then  Mary  may  he 
Btanding,  and  her  looks  directed  towards  him.  as  in  a  fine 
majestic  Annunciation  of  Andrea  del  Sarto  [in  the  1'itti, 
Florence].  Standing  was  the  antique  attitude  of  prayer;  so 
that  if  we  sup]io.-<-  her  to  have  been  interrupted  in  her  devo- 
tions, the  attitude  is  still  appropriate.  But  if  that  momenl 
be  chosen  in  which  she  expressed  her  submission  to  the  divine 

l  11  J'er/'tlto  Leymdario. 


226  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

will,  "  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord ;  let  it  he  unto  me 
according  to  thy  word  !  "  then  she  might  surely  kneel  with 
bowed  head,  and  folded  hands,  and  "  downcast  eyes  beneath 
th'  almighty  Dove."  No  attitude  could  be  too  humble  to 
express  that  response ;  and  Dante  lias  given  us,  as  the  most 
perfect  illustration  of  the  virtue  of  humility,  the  sentiment  and 
attitude  of  Mary  when  submitting  herself  to  the  divine  will. 
(Purg.  x.,  Cary's  trans.) 

The  angel  (who  came  down  to  earth 
With  tidings  of  the  peace  so  many  years 
Wept  for  in  vain,  that  op'd  the  heavenly  gates 
From  their  long  interdict)  before  us  seem'd 
In  a  sweet  act,  so  sculptur'd  to  the  life, 
He  look'd  no  silent  image.     One  had  sworn 
He  had  said  "  Hail !  "  for  she  was  imag'd  there, 
By  whom  the  key  did  open  to  God's  love; 
And  in  her  act  as  sensibly  imprest 
That  word,  "  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord," 
As  figure  sealed  on  wax. 

And  very  beautifully  has  Flaxman  transferred  the  sculpture 
"  divinely  wrought  upon  the  rock  of  marble  white  "  to  earthly 
form. 

The  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  historical  Annuncia- 
tions is  to  accounted  for  by  the  words  of  St.  Luke,  and  the 
visible  form  of  the  Dove  is  conventional  and  authorized.  In 
many  pictures  the  celestial  Dove  enters  by  the  open  casement. 
Sometimes  it  seems  to  hrood  immediately  over  the  head  of  the 
Virgin ;  sometimes  it  hovers  towards  her  bosom.  As  for  the 
perpetual  introduction  of  the  emblem  of  the  Padre  Eterno,  seen 
above  the  sky,  under  the  usual  half-figure  of  a  kingly  ancient 
man,  surrounded  by  a  glory  of  cherubim,  and  sending  forth 
upon  a  beam  of  light  the  immaculate  Dove,  there  is  nothing 
to  be  said  but  the  usual  excuse  for  the  mediaeval  artists,  that 
certainly  there  was  no  conscious  irreverence.  The  old  painters, 
great  as  they  were  in  Art,  lived  in  ignorant  but  zealous  times 
—  in  times  when  faith  was  so  fixed,  so  much  a  part  of  the  life 
and  soul,  that  it  was  not  easily  shocked  or  shaken  ;  as  it  was 
not  founded  in  knowledge  or  reason,  so  nothing  that  startled 
the  reason  could  impair  it.  Religion,  which  now  speaks  to  us 
through  words,  then  spoke  to  the  people  through  visible  forms 
universally  accepted ;   and,  in  the  Fine  Arts,  we  accept  such 


THE   ANNUNCIATION  227 

forms  according  to  the  feeling  which  then  existed  in  men's 
minds,  and  which,  in  its  sincerity,  demands  our  respect,  though 
now  we  might  not,  could  not,  tolerate  the  repetition.  We 
must  also  remember  that  it  was  not  in  the  ages  of  ignorance 
and  faith  that  we  find  the  grossest  materialism  in  Art.  It  was 
in  the  learned  half-pagan  sixteenth  and  the  polished  seven- 
teenth century  that  this  materialized  theology  became  most 
offensive.  Of  all  the  artists  who  have  sinned  in  the  Annunci- 
ation,—  and  they  are  many,  —  Niccolb  Poussiri  is  perhaps  the 
worst.  Yet  he  was  a  good,  a  pious  man,  as  well  as  a  learned 
and  accomplished  painter.  All  through  the  history  of  the  art, 
the  French  show  themselves  as  the  most  signal  violators  of 
good  taste,  and  what  they  have  invented  a  word  for  —  bien- 
seance.  They  are  worse  than  the  old  Germans;  worse  than 
the  modern  Spaniards  —  and  that  is  saying  much. 

In  Raphael's  Annunciation,  Mary  is  seated  in  a  reclining 
attitude,  leaning  against  the  side  of  her  couch,  and  holding  a 
book.  The  angel,  whose  attitude  expresses  a  graceful  empresse- 
iii rut,  kneels  at  some  distance,  holding  the  lily. 

Michael  Angelo  gives  us  a  most  majestic  Virgin  standing  on 
the  steps  of  a  priedieu,  and  turning  with  hands  upraised  to- 
wards the  angel,  who  appears  to  have  entered  by  the  open 
door;  his  figure  is  most  clumsy  and  material,  and  his  attitude 
unmeaning  and  ungraceful.  It  is,  I  think,  the  only  instance 
in  which  Michael  Angelo  has  given  wings  to  an  angelic  being; 
for  here  they  could  not  be  dispensed  with. 

In  a  beautiful  Annunciation  by  Johan  van  Eyck  (Munich 
Gallery),  the  Virgin  kneels  at  a  desk  with  a  book  before  her. 
She  has  long  fair  hair,  and  a  noble  intellectual  brow.  Gabriel, 
holding  his  sceptre,  stands  in  the  doorway.  The  Dove  enters 
by  the  lattice.  A  bed  is  in  the  background,  and  in  front  a 
pot  of  lilies.  In  another  Annunciation  by  Van  Eyck,  painted 
on  the  Ghent  altar-piece,  we  have  the  mystic,  not  the  historical 
representation,  and  a  very  beautiful  effect  is  produced  by 
clothing  both  the  angel  and  Mary  in  robes  of  pure  while.  (Ber- 
lin Gallery.) 

In  an  engraving  after  Rembrandt,  the  Virgin  kneels  by  a 
fountain,  ami  the  angel  kneels  on  the  opposite  side.  This 
seem-  to  express  the  legendary  scene. 

[A  valuable  contribution   to  art   representations  of  the   An- 


228  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

nunciation  is  Dante  Gabriel  Kossetti's  remarkable  painting, 
"Ecce  Ancilla  Domini/'  in  the  National  Gallery,  London. 
The  artist's  conception  of  the  event  is  entirely  unlike  that  of 
any  of  the  old  masters.  The  Virgin  has  awakened  at  dawn, 
and  half  rising  from  her  couch  gazes  dreamily  into  space,  her 
head  drooping  slightly  with  a  pensive  air,  as  if  absorbed  in  the 
visions  of  her  own  mind.  The  angel  is  represented  without 
wings  and  is  clothed  in  a  long  straight  tunic.  He  stands  at 
the  foot  of  the  couch  bearing  a  lily  in  one  hand  and  raising  the 
other  in  blessing.  The  picture  is  described  and  engraved  in 
Van  Dyke's  "  Christ-Child  in  Art,"  and  in  Farrar's  "  Life  of 
Christ  in  Art." 

The  Annunciation  by  Sir  E.  Burne- Jones  is  conceived  more 
according  to  the  spirit  of  the  old  masters.  The  Virgin  is  stand- 
ing under  an  arched  portico  with  a  thoughtful  wondering  ex- 
pression. The  angel  appears  amid  the  foliage  of  a  tree  at  the 
side,  gazing  down  upon  her.  His  elaborate  drapery  hangs  in 
heavy  folds  ;  his  long  wings  droop  beside  him  ;  he  is  indeed 
rather  a  vision  than  an  actual  visitant,  for  there  is  no  appear- 
ance of  motion  in  his  attitude.] 

These  few  observations  on  the  general  arrangement  of  the 
theme,  whether  mystical  or  historical,  will,  I  hope,  assist  the 
observer  in  discriminating  for  himself.  I  must  not  venture 
further,  for  we  have  a  wide  range  of  subjects  before  us. 

The  Visitation 

Ital.  La  Visitazione  di  Maria.     Fr.  La  Visitation  de  la  Vierge. 
Ger.  Die  Heimsuchung  Maria.     (July  2.) 

After  the  annunciation  of  the  angel,  the  Scripture  goes  on 
to  relate  how  "  Mary  arose  and  went  up  into  the  hill  country 
with  haste,  to  the  house  of  her  cousin  Elizabeth,  and  saluted 
her."  This  meeting  of  the  two  kinswomen  is  the  subject 
styled  in  Art  the  "  Visitation,"  and  sometimes  the  "  Salutation 
of  Elizabeth."  It  is  of  considerable  importance,  in  a  series 
of  the  life  of  the  Virgin,  as  an  event;  and  also,  when  taken 
separately  in  its  religious  significance,  as  being  the  first  recog- 
nition of  the  character  of  the  Messiah.  "  Whence  is  this  to 
me,"  exclaims  Elizabeth,  "  that  the  mother  of  my  Lord  should 
come  to  me  ?  "   (Luke  i.  43)  ;  and  as  she  spoke  this  through 


THE    VISITATION  229 

the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  not  through  knowledge, 
she  is  considered  in  the  Light  of  a  prophetess. 

Of  Elizabeth  1  must  premise  a  few  words,  because  in  many 
representations  relating  to  the  life  of  the  Virgin,  and  particu- 
larly in  those  domestic  groups,  the  Holy  Families  properly  so 
called,  she  is  a  personage  of  great  importance,  and  we  (Might  to 
be  able,  by  some  preconceived  idea  of  her  hearing  and  charac- 
ter, to  test  the  propriety  of  that  impersonation  usually  adopted 
by  the  artists.  We  must  remember  that  she  was  much  older 
than  her  cousin,  a  woman  "  well  stricken  in  years  ;  *'  but  it  is 
a  great  mistake  to  represent  her  as  old,  as  wrinkled  and  de- 
crepit, as  some  painters  have  done.  We  are  told  that  she  was 
righteous  before  the  Lord,  "  walking  in  all  his  commandments 
blameless  :  "  the  manner  in  which  she  received  the  visit  of 
Mary,  acknowledging  with  a  glad  humility  the  higher  destinies 
of  her  young  relative,  shows  her  to  have  been  free  from  all 
envy  and  jealousy.  Therefore  all  pictures  of  Elizabeth  should 
exhibit  her  as  an  elderly,  but  not  an  aged  matron  ;  a  dignified, 
mild,  and  gracious  creature;  one  selected  to  high  honor  by  the 
Searcher  of  hearts,  who;  looking  down  on  hers,  had  beheld  it 
pure  from  any  secret  taint  of  selfishness,  even  as  her  conduct 
had  been  blameless  before  man. 

Such  a  woman  as  we  believe  Mary  to  have  been  must  have 
loved  and  honored  such  a  woman  as  Elizabeth.  Wherefore, 
having  heard  that  Elizabeth  had  been  exalted  to  a  miraculous 
motherhood,  she  made  haste  to  visit  her,  not  to  ask  her  advice 
—  for  being  graced  with  all  good  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
herself  the  mother  of  Wisdom,  she  could  not  need  advice  — 
but  to  sympathize  with  her  cousin  and  reveal  what  had  hap- 
pened to  herself. 

Thus  then  they  met,  "these  two  mothers  of  two  great 
princes,  of  whom  one  was  pronounced  the  greatesl  horn  ol 
women,  and  the  other  was  his  Lord:''  happiest  and  mosl 
exalted  of  all  womankind  before  or  since,  "  needs  must  they 
have  discoursed  like  seraphim  and  the  most  ecstasied  order  .,t 
Intelligences!"  Such  was  the  blessed  encounter  represented 
in  the  Yisital  ion. 

The  number  of  the  figures,  the  locality,  and  circumstam 
vary  greatly.      Sometime-  we  have  only  the  two  women,  with- 


230  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

out  accessories  of  any  kind,  and  nothing  interferes  with  the 
high  solemnity  of  that  moment  in  which  Elizabeth  confesses 
the  mother  of  her  Lord.  The  better  to  express  this  willing 
homage,  this  momentous  prophecy,  she  is  often  kneeling. 
( )ther  figures  are  frequently  introduced,  because  it  could  not 
be  supposed  that  Mary  made  the  journey  from  Nazareth  to 
the  dwelling  of  Zacharias  near  Jerusalem,  a  distance  of  fifty 
miles,  alone.  Whether  her  husband  Joseph  accompanied  her 
is  doubtful  ;  and  while  many  artists  have  introduced  him, 
others  have  omitted  him  altogether.  According  to  the  ancient 
Greek  formula  laid  down  for  the  religious  painters,  Mary  is 
accompanied  by  a  servant  or  a  boy,  who  carries  a  stick  across 
his  shoulder,  and  a  basket  slung  to  it.  The  old  Italians  who 
followed  the  Byzantine  models  seldom  omit  this  attendant,  but 
in  some  instances  (as  in  the  magnificent  composition  of  Michael 
Angelo  l)  a  handmaid  bearing  a  basket  on  her  head  is  substi- 
tuted for  the  boy.  In  many  instances  Joseph,  attired  as  a 
traveller,  appears  behind  the  Virgin,  and  Zacharias,  in  his 
priestly  turban  and  costume,  behind  Elizabeth. 

The  locality  is  often  an  open  porch  or  a  garden  in  front  of 
a  house ;  and  this  garden  of  Zacharias  is  celebrated  in  Eastern 
tradition.  It  is  related  that  the  blessed  Virgin,  during  her 
residence  with  her  cousin  Elizabeth,  frequently  recreated  her- 
self by  walking  in  the  garden  of  Zacharias,  whilst  she  medi- 
tated on  the  strange  and  lofty  destiny  to  which  she  was 
appointed  ;  and  further,  that  happening  one  day  to  touch  a 
certain  flower,  which  grew  there,  with  her  most  blessed  hand, 
from  being  inodorous  before,  it  became  from  that  moment 
deliciously  fragrant.  The  garden,  therefore,  was  a  fit  place 
for  the  meeting. 

1.  The  earliest  representation  of  the  Visitation  to  which  I 
can  refer  is  a  rude  but  not  ungraceful  drawing,  in  the  catacombs 
at  Rome,  of  two  women  embracing.  It  is  not  of  very  high  an- 
tiquity, perhaps  the  seventh  or  eighth  century,  but  there  can 
be  no  doubt  about  the  subject.  (Cemetery  of  Julius:  vide 
Bosio,  Roma  Sotterana.) 

2.  Cimabue  has  followed  the  Greek  formula,  and  his  simple 
group  appears  to  me  to  have  great  feeling  and  simplicity. 

3.  More  modern  instances,  from  the  date  of  the  revival  of 

1  [Once]  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Bromley  of  Wootten. 


THE    VISITATION 


231 


Art,  abound  in  every  form.  Almost  every  painter  -who  lias 
treated  subjects  from  the  life  of  the  Virgin  has  treated  the 
Visitation.  In  the  composition  by  Raphael,  in  the  Madrid 
Gallery,  there  are  the  two   figures  only  ;  and   I  should  object 


Visitation  (Ghirlandajo) 

in  this  otherwise  perfect  picture  to  the  bashful  conscious  look  of 
the  Virgin  .Mary.  The  heads  are.  however,  eminently  beauti- 
ful and  dignified.  In  the  far  background  is  seen  the  baptism 
of  Christ  —  very  happily  and  .significantly  introduced,  not 
merely  as  expressing  the  name  of  the  votary  who  dedicated  the 
picture,  Giovan-Battista  Branconio,  hut  also  as  expressing  the 
relation  between  the  two  unborn  children,  the  Christ  and  his 
prophet. 

4.  The  group  by  Sebastian  del  Piombo  is  singularly  grand, 
showing  in  every  part  the  influence  of  Michael  Angelo,  bill 
richly  colored  in  Sebastian's  besl  manner.  The  figures  are 
seen  only  to  the  knees.  In  the  background,  Zacharias  is  seen 
hurrying  down  -mne  steps  to  receive  the  Virgin.1 

i  Louvre.    There  is  in  tin-  Louvre,  another  Visitation  of  singular  and  char- 
acteristic beauty  by  D.  Ghirlantluj'). 


232 


HISTOKICAL   SUBJECTS 


5.  The  group  by  Pinturicchio,  with  the  attendant  angels, 
is  remarkable  for  its  poetic  grace  :  and  this,  by  Lucas  v.  Ley* 
den,  is  equally  remarkable  for  affectionate  sentiment. 

6.  Still  more  beautiful,  and  more  dramatic  and  varied,  is 
another  composition  by  Pinturicchio  in  the  Sala  Borgia.  (Vati- 
can, Rome.)  The  Virgin  and  St.  Elizabeth,  in  the  centre, 
take  each  other's  hands.  Behind  the  Virgin  are  St.  Joseph,  a 
maiden  with  a  basket  on  her  head,  and  other  attendants.  Be- 
hind St.  Elizabeth  we  have  a  view  into  the  interior  of  her 
house,  through  arcades  richly  sculptured ;  and  within,  Zacha- 
rias  is  reading,  and  the  handmaids  of  Elizabeth  are  spinning 
and  sewing.    This  elegant  fresco  was  painted  for  Alexander  VI. 


Visitation  (Lucas  van  Leyden) 


7.  There  is  a  fine  picture  of  this  subject  by  Andrea  Sabba- 
tini  of  Salerno,  the  history  of  which  is  rather  curious.  "  It 
was  painted  at  the  reqxiest  of  the  Sanseverini,  princes  of  Sa- 
lerno, to  be  presented  to  a  nunnery  in  which  one  of  that  noble 


THE   VISITATION  233 

family  had  taken  the  veil.  Under  the  form  of  the  hlessed 
Virgin,  Andrea  represented  the  last  princess  of  Salerno,  who 
was  of  the  family  of  Villa  Marina  ;  under  that  of  St.  Joseph, 
the  prince  her  husband;  an  old  servant  of  the  family  figures 
as  St.  Elizabeth;  and  in  the  features  of  Zacharias  we  recos- 
nize  those  of  Bernardo  Tasso,  the  father  of  Torquato  Tasso, 
and  then  secretary  to  the  prince  of  Salerno.  After  remaining 
for  many  years  over  the  high  altar  of  the  church,  it  was  re- 
moved through  the  scruples  of  one  of  the  Neapolitan  arch- 
bishops, who  was  scandalized  by  the  impropriety  of  placing 
the  portraits  of  well-known  personages  in  such  a  situation." 
The  picture,  once  removed  from  its  place,  disappeared,  and  by 
some  means  found  its  way  to  the  Louvre.  Andrea,  who  was 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  scholars  of  Raphael,  died 
in  1545.  i 

8.  The  composition  by  Rubens  has  all  that  scenic  effect  and 
dramatic  movement  which  was  characteristic  of  the  painter. 
The  meeting  takes  place  on  a  flight  of  steps  leading  to  the 
house  of  Zacharias.  The  Virgin  wears  a  hat,  as  one  just  ar- 
rived from  a  journey  ;  Joseph  and  Zacharias  greet  each  other ; 
a  maiden  with  a  basket  on  her  head  follows ;  and  in  the  fore- 
ground a  man  unloads  the  ass.      [Antwerp  cathedral.] 

I  will  mention  two  other  examples,  each  perfect  in  its  way, 
in  two  most  opposite  styles  of  treatment. 

9.  The  first  is  the  simple  majestic  composition  of  Alberti- 
nelli,  in  the  Uffizi,  Florence.  The  two  women,  standing 
alone  under  a  richly  sculptured  arch,  and  relieved  against  the 
bright  azure  sky,  embrace  each  other.  There  are  no  accesso- 
ries. Mary  is  attired  in  dark  bine  drapery,  and  Elizabeth 
wears  an  ample  robe  of  a  saffron  or  rather  amber  color.  The 
mingled  grandeur,  power,  and  grace,  and  depth  of  expression 
in  these  two  figures,  are  quid'  extraordinary;  they  look  like 
what  they  arc,  and  worthy  to  be  mothers  of  the  greatest  of 
kings  and  the  greatest  of  prophets.  Albertinelli  has  here  emu- 
lated his  friend  Bartolommeo  —  his  friend,  whom  he  so  loved, 
that  when,  after  the  horrible  execution  of  Savonarola,  Bartolom- 
meo, broken-hearted,  threw  himself  into  the  convent  of  St. 
Mark,  Albertinelli  became  almost  distracted  and  desperate. 
He  would  certainly,  says  Vasari,  have  gone  into  the  same  con- 

1  This  picture  is  thus  described  in  the  old  catalogues  of  the  Louvre,  hut  it  im>( 
to  be  found  in  that  of  Villot.     [Nor  in  Lafenestre  and  Richtenberger.] 


234 


HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 


vent,  but  for  the  hatred  he  bore  the  monks,  "  of  whom  he  was 
always  saying  the  most  injurious  things." 

Through  some  hidden  influence  of  intense  sympathy,  Alber- 
tinelli,  though  in  point  of  character  the  very  antipodes  of  his 
friend,  often  painted  so  like  him,  that  his  pictures  —  and  this 


v 


Visitation  (Albertinelli) 


noble  picture  more  particularly  —  might  be  mistaken  for  the 
work  of  the  Frate. 

10.  We  will  now  turn  to  a  conception  altogether  different, 
and  equally  a  masterpiece  ;  it  is  the  sma'll  but  exquisitely  fin- 
ished composition  by  Rembrandt.  (Grosvenor  Gallery,  London.) 
The  scene  is  the  garden  in  front  of  the  house  of  Zacharias ; 
Elizabeth  is  descending  the  steps  in  haste  to  receive  and  em- 


THE   DREAM    OF   JOSEPH  235 

brace  with  outstretched  arms  the  Virgin  Mary,  who  appears  to 
have  just  alighted  from  her  journey.  The  aged  Zacharias, 
supported  by  a  youth,  is  seen  following  Elizabeth  to  welcome 
their  guest.  Behind  Mary  stands  a  black  female  attendant,  in 
the  act  of  removing  a  mantle  from  her  shoulders;  in  the  hack- 
ground  a  servant,  or  (as  1  think)  Joseph  holds  the  ass  on  which 
Mary  has  journeyed  ;  a  peacock  with  a  gemdike  train,  and  a  hen 
with  a  brood  of  chickens  (the  latter  the  emblem  of  maternity), 
are  in  the  foreground.  Though  the  representation  thus  con- 
ceived appears  like  a  scene  of  everyday  life,  nothing  can  he 
more  poetical  than  the  treatment,  more  intensely  true  and 
noble  than  the  expression  of  the  diminutive  figures,  more  mas- 
terly and  finished  than  the  execution,  more  magical  and  lus- 
trous than  the  effect  of  the  whole.  The  work  of  Albertinelli,  in 
its  large  and  solemn  beauty  and  religious  significance,  is  worthy 
of  being  placed  over  an  altar,  on  which  we  might  offer  up  the 
work  of  Rembrandt  as  men  offer  incense,  gems,  and  gold. 

As  the  Visitation  is  not  easily  mistaken,  I  have  said  enough 
of  it  here  ;  and  we  pass  to  the  next  subject. 

The  Dream  of  Joseph 

Although  the  Feast  of  the  Visitation  is  fixed  for  the  2d  of 
July,  it  was,  and  is,  a  received  opinion,  that  Mary  began  her 
journey  to  the  hill  country  but  a  short  time,  even  a  few  days, 
after  the  annunciation  of  the  angel.  It  was  the  sixth  month 
with  Elizabeth,  and  Mary  sojourned  with  her  three  months. 
Hence  it  is  supposed,  by  many  commentators,  that  Mary  must 
have  been  present  at  the  birth  of  John  the  Baptist.  It  may 
seem  surprising  that  the  early  painters  should  not  have  made 
use  of  this  supposition.  I  am  not  aware  that  there  exists 
among  the  numerous  representations  of  the  birth  of  St.  John 
any  instance  of  the  Virgin  being  introduced;  it  should  seem 
that  the  lofty  ideas  entertained  of  the  Mater  Dei  rendered  it 
impossible  to  place  her  in  a  scene  where  she  would  necessarily 
take  a  subordinate  position  :  this,  1  think,  sufficiently  accounts 
for  her  absence.1      Mary  then  returned  to  her  own  dwelling  at 

1  There  is,  however,  in  the  Liverpool  Museum,  a  very  exquisite  miniature  of 
the  birth  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  in  which  the  female  figure  Btanding  near  n 
resent-,  I  think,  the  Virgin  .Mary.     It  was  cut  out  of  a  choral  book  of  the  Siena 
school. 


236  HISTOKICAL   SUBJECTS 

Nazareth;  and  when  Joseph  (who  in  these  legendary  stories 
is  constantly  represented  as  a  house-carpenter  and  builder,  travel- 
ling about  to  exercise  his  trade  in  various  places)  also  came  back 
to  his  home,  and  beheld  his  wife,  the  suspicion  entered  his  mind 
that  she  was  about  to  become  a  mother,  and  very  naturally  his 
mind  was  troubled  "with  sorrow  and  insecure  apprehensions; 
but  being  a  just  man,  that  is,  according  to  the  Scriptures  and 
other  wise  writers,  a  good,  a  charitable  man,  he  would  not 
openly  disgrace  her,  for  he  found  it  more  agreeable  to  justice 
to  treat  an  offending  person  with  the  easier  sentence  than  to 
render  her  desperate,  and  without  remedy,  and  provoked  by 
the  suffering  of  the  worst  of  what  she  could  fear.  No  obliga- 
tion to  justice  can  force  a  man  to  be  cruel ;  pity,  and  forbear- 
ance, and  long-suffering,  and  fair  interpretation,  and  excusing 
our  brother  "  (and  our  sister),  "  and  taking  things  in  the  best 
sense,  and  passing  the  gentlest  sentence,  are  as  certainly  our 
duty,  and  owing  to  every  person  who  does  offend  and  can 
repent,  as  calling  men  to  account  can  be  owing  to  the  law." 
(Vide  Bishop  Taylor's  Life  of  Christ.)  Thus  says  the  good 
Bishop  Taylor,  praising  Joseph,  that  he  was  too  truly  just  to 
call  furiously  for  justice,  and  that,  waiving  the  killing  letter  of 
the  law,  he  was  "  minded  to  dismiss  his  wife  privily ; "  and  in 
this  he  emulated  the  mercy  of  his  divine  foster  Son,  who  did  not 
cruelly  condemn  the  woman  whom  he  knew  to  be  guilty,  but 
dismissed  her  "to  repent  and  sin  no  more."  But  while  Joseph 
was  pondering  thus  in  his  heart,  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  the 
prince  of  angels,  even  Gabriel,  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream, 
saying,  "  Joseph,  thou  son  of  David,  fear  not  to  take  unto  thee 
Mary  thy  wife  !  "  and  he  awoke  and  obeyed  that  divine  voice. 

This  first  vision  of  the  angel  is  not  in  works  of  Art  easily 
distinguished  from  the  second  vision  ;  but  there  is  a  charming 
fresco  by  Luini  which  can  bear  no  other  interpretation.  Joseph 
is  seated  by  the  carpenter's  bench,  and  leans  his  head  on  his 
hand,  slumbering.  (Milan,  Brera.)  An  angel  stands  by  him 
pointing  to  Mary,  who  is  seen  at  a  window  above,  busied  with 
needlework. 

On  waking  from  this  vision,  Joseph,  says  the  legend,  "  en- 
treated forgiveness  of  Mary  for  having  wronged  her  even  in 
thought."  This  is  a  subject  quite  unknown,  I  believe,  before 
the  fifteenth  century,  and  not  commonly  met  with  since,  but  there 
are  some  instances.     On  one  of  the  carved  stalls  of  the  cathedral 


THE   NATIVITY  237 

of  Amiens  it  is  very  poetically  treated.  (Vide  Stalles  d' Amiens, 
p.  205.)  Mary  is  seated  on  a  throne  under  a  magnificent 
canopy  ;  Joseph,  kneeling  before  her  and  presented  by  two  angels, 
pleads  for  pardon.  She  extends  one  hand  to  him  ;  in  the  other 
is  the  volume  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  There  is  a  similar  version 
of  the  text  in  sculpture  over  one  of  the  doors  of  Notre  Dame 
at  Paris.  There  is  also  a  picture  by  Alessandro  Tiarini  (Le 
repentir  de  Saint  Joseph,  Louvre),  and  reckoned  by  Malvasia 
his  finest  work,  wherein  Joseph  kneels  before  the  Virgin,  who 
stands  with  a  dignified  air,  and,  while  she  raises  him  with  one 
hand,  points  with  the  other  up  to  heaven.  Behind  are  seen 
the  angel  Gabriel  with  his  finger  on  his  lip,  as  commanding 
silence,  and  two  other  angels.  The  figures  are  life  size,  the 
execution  and  color  very  fine ;  the  whole  conception  in  the 
grand  but  mannered  style  of  the  Guido  school. 

The  Nativity 

Ital.   II  Presepio.     II   Nascimento   del  Nostro   Signore.     Fr.  La 
Nativite.     Ger.  Die  Geburt  Christi.     (Dec.  25.) 

The  birth  of  our  Saviour  is  related  with  characteristic  sim- 
plicity and  brevity  in  the  Gospels ;  but  in  the  early  Christian 
traditions  this  great  event  is  preceded  and  accompanied  by 
several  circumstances  which  have  assumed  a  certain  importance 
and  interest  in  the  artistic  representations. 

According  to  an  ancient  legend,  the  Emperor  Augustus 
Caesar  repaired  to  the  sibyl  Tiburtina,  to  inquire  whether  he 
should  consent  to  allow  himself  to  be  worshipped  with  divine 
honors,  which  the  Senate  had  decreed  to  him.  The  sibyl, 
after  some  days  of  meditation,  took  the  emperor  apart,  and 
showed  him  an  altar;  and  above  the  altar,  in  the  opening 
heavens,  and  in  a  glory  of  light,  he  beheld  a  beautiful  Virgin 
holding  an  infant  in  her  arms,  and  at  the  same  time  a  voice 
was  heard  saying,  "This  is  the  altar  of  the  Son  of  the  living 
God;"  whereupon  Augustus  caused  an  altar  to  be  erected  on 
the  Capitoline  Hill,  with  this  inscription.  "Ara  primogeniti 
Dei;"  and  on  the  same  spot,  in  later  times,  was  built  the 
Chuych called  the  Ara-Coeli.  well  known,  with  its  flight  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four  marble  steps,  to  all  who  have  visited 
Rome. 

Of  the  sibyls    generally,  in    their   relation  to  Sacred  Art,  I 


238  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

have  already  spoken.  (Introduction.)  This  particular  prophecy 
of  the  Tiburtina  sibyl  to  Augustus  rests  on  some  very  antique 
traditions,  pagan  as  well  as  Christian.  It  is  supposed  to  have 
suggested  the  "  Pollio  "  of  Virgil,  which  suggested  the  "  Mes- 
siah "  of  Pope.  It  is  mentioned  by  writers  of  the  third  and 
fourth  centuries,  and  our  own  divines  have  not  wholly  rejected 
it,  for  Bishop  Taylor  mentions  the  sibyl's  prophecy  among 
"  the  great  and  glorious  accidents  happening  about  the  birth 
of  Jesus."      (Life  of  Jesus  Christ,  sec.  4.) 

A  very  rude  but  curious  bas-relief,  preserved  in  the  church 
of  the  Ara-Coeli,  is  perhaps  the  oldest  representation  extant. 
The  church  legend  assigns  to  it  a  fabulous  antiquity  ;  but  it 
must  be  older  than  the  twelfth  century,  as  it  is  alluded  to  by 
writers  of  that  period.  Here  the  Emperor  Augustus  kneels 
before  the  Madonna  and  Child,  and  at  his  side  is  the  sibyl  Tibur- 
tina, pointing  upwards. 

Since  the  revival  of  Art  the  incident  has  been  frequently 
treated.  It  was  painted  on  the  vault  of  the  choir  of  the  Ara- 
Coeli.  In  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  it  became 
a  favorite  subject.  It  admitted  of  those  classical  forms,  and 
that  mingling  of  the  heathen  and  the  Christian  in  style  and 
costume,  which  were  calculated  to  please  the  churchmen  and 
artists  of  the  time,  and  the  examples  are  innumerable. 

The  most  celebrated,  I  believe,  is  the  fresco  by  Baldassare 
Peruzzi  (Siena,  Fonte  Giusta),  in  which  the  figure  of  the  sibyl 
is  certainly  very  majestic,  but  the  rest  of  the  group  utterly 
vulgar  and  commonplace.  Less  famous,  but  on  the  whole 
preferable  in  point  of  taste,  is  the  group  by  Garofalo,  in  the 
palace  of  the  Quirinal ; 1  and  there  is  another  by  Titian,  in 
which  the  scene  is  laid  in  a  fine  landscape  after  his  manner. 
Vasari  mentions  a  cartoon  of  this  subject,  painted  by  Rosso 
for  Francis  I.,  "among  the  best  things  Rosso  ever  produced." 
and  introducing  the  king  and  queen  of  France,  their  guards, 
and  a  concourse  of  people,  as  spectators  of  the  scene.  In  some 
instances  the  locality  is  a  temple,  with  an  altar  before  which 
kneels  the  emperor,  having  laid  upon  it  his  sceptre  and  laurel 
crown :  the  sibyl  points  to  the  vision  seen  through  a  window 
above.  I  think  it  is  so  represented  in  a  large  picture  at  Hamp- 
ton Court  by  Pietro  da  Cortona. 

1  [A  diligent  search  in  the  Quirinal  palace  in  1894  fails  to  bring  to  light  any 
picture  of  this  description.] 


THE   NATIVITY 


239 


Sibyl's  Prophecy  (Peruzzi) 

The  sibylline  prophecy  is  supposed  to  have  occurred  a  short 
time  before  the  Nativity,  about  the  same  period  when  the 
decree  went  forth  "  that  all  the  world  should  be  taxed." 
Joseph,  therefore,  arose  and  saddled  his  ass,  and  set  his  wife 
upon  it,  and  went  up  from  Nazareth  to  Bethlehem,     The  way 


240  HISTOKICAL   SUBJECTS 

was  long,  and  steep,  and  weary ;  "  and  when  Joseph  looked 
back,  he  saw  the  face  of  Mary  that  it  was  sorrowful,  as  of  one 
in  pain ;  but  when  he  looked  back  again  she  smiled.  And 
when  they  were  come  to  Bethlehem,  there  was  no  room  for 
them  in  the  inn,  because  of  the  great  concourse  of  people. 
And  Mary  said  to  Joseph,  '  Take  me  down,  for  I  suffer.' ; 
(Protevangelion.) 

The  journey  to  Bethlehem,  and  the  grief  and  perplexity  of 
Joseph,  have  been  often  represented.  1.  There  exists  a  very 
ancient  Greek  carving  in  ivory,  wherein  Mary  is  seated  on  the 
ass,  with  an  expression  of  suffering,  and  Joseph  tenderly  sus- 
tains her ;  she  has  one  arm  round  his  neck,  leaning  on  him : 
an  angel  leads  the  ass,  lighting  the  way  with  a  torch.  It  is 
supposed  that  this  curious  relic  formed  part  of  the  ornaments 
of  the  ivory  throne  of  the  exarch  of  Ravenna,  and  that  it  is 
at  least  as  old  as  the  sixth  century.1  2.  There  is  an  instance 
more  dramatic  in  an  engraving  after  a  master  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Mary,  seated  on  the  ass,  and  holding  the 
bridle,  raises  her  eyes  to  heaven  with  an  expression  of  resigna- 
tion ;  Joseph,  cap  in  hand,  humbly  expostulates  with  the  mas- 
ter of  the  inn,  who  points  towards  the  stable ;  the  innkeeper's 
wife  looks  up  at  the  Virgin  with  a  strong  expression  of  pity  and 
sympathy.  3.  I  remember  another  print  of  the  same  subject, 
where,  in  the  background,  angels  are  seen  preparing  the  cradle 
in  a  cave. 

I  may  as  well  add  that  the  Virgin,  in  this  character  of  mys- 
terious, and  religious,  and  most  pure  maternity,  is  venerated 
under  the  title  of  "  La  Madonna  del  Parto."  Every  one  who 
has  visited  Naples  will  remember  the  church  on  the  Mergellina, 
dedicated  to  the  Madonna  del  Parto,  where  lies  beneath  his 
pagan  tomb  the  poet  Sannazzaro.  Mr.  Hallam,  in  a  beautiful 
passage  of  his  "  History  of  the  Literature  of  Europe,1"  has 
pointed  out  the  influence  of  the  genius  of  Tasso  on  the  whole 
school  of  Bolognese  painters  of  that  time.  Not  less  striking  was 
the  influence  of  Sannazzaro  and  his  famous  poem  on  the  Nativity 
("  De  Partu  Virginia ")  on  the  contemporary  productions  of 
Italian  Art,  and  more  particularly  as  regards  the  subject  under 
consideration  ;  I  can  trace  it  through  all  the  schools  of  Art, 
from  Milan  to  Naples,  during  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth 
century.      Of  Sannazzaro's  poem,   Mr.  Hallam  says,   that  "  it 

l  It  is  engraved  in  Gori's  Thesaui-us,  and  described  in  Milliter's  Sinnbilder, 


THE    NATIVITY  241 

would  be  difficult  to  find  its  equal  for  purity,  elegance,  and 
harmony  of  versification."  It  is  not  the  less  true,  that  even 
its  greatest  merits  as  a  Latin  poem  exercised  the  most  perverse 
influence  on  the  Religious  Art  of  that  period.  It  was,  indeed, 
only  one  of  the  many  influences  which  may  be  said  to  have 
demoralized  the  artists  of  the  sixteenth  century,  but  it  was  one 
of  the  greatest. 

The  Nativity  of  our  Saviour,  like  the  Annunciation,  has 
been  treated  in  two  ways  —  as  a  mystery  and  as  an  event,  and 
we  must  be  careful  to  discriminate  between  them. 


The  Nativity  as  a  Mystery 

In  the  first  sense,  the  artist  has  intended  simply  to  express 
the  advent  of  the  Divinity  on  earth  in  the  form  of  an  infant, 
and  the  motif  is  clearly  taken  from  a  text  in  the  Office  of 
the  Virgin,  "  Virgo  quern  genuit  adoravit."  In  the  beautiful 
words  of  Jeremy  Taylor,  "  She  blessed  him,  she  worshipped 
him,  and  she  thanked  him  that  he  would  be  born  of  her ;  "  as, 
indeed,  many  a  young  mother  has  done  before  and  since,  when 
she  has  hung  in  adoration  over  the  cradle  of  her  first-born 
child  —  but  here  the  child  was  to  be  a  descended  God ;  and 
nothing,  as  it  seems  to  me,  can  be  more  graceful  and  more 
profoundly  suggestive  than  the  manner  in  which  some  of  the 
early  Italian  artists  have  expressed  this  idea.  When,  in  such 
pictures,  the  locality  is  marked  by  the  poor  stable,  or  the 
rough  rocky  cave,  it  becomes  "a  temple  full  of  religion,  full 
of  glory,  where  angels  are  the  ministers,  the  holy  Virgin  the 
worshipper,  and  Christ  the  Deity."  Very  few  accessories  are 
admitted,  merely  such  as  serve  to  denote  that  the  subject  is 
"a  Nativity,"  properly  so  called,  and  not  the  "  Mad  re  Pia," 
as  already  described. 

The  divine  Infant  lies  in  the  centre  of  the  picture,  some- 
times on  a  white  napkin,  sometimes  with  no  other  bed  than 
the  flowery  turf;  sometimes  his  head  rests  on  a  wheat-sheaf, 
always  here  interpreted  as  "the  bread  of  life."  He  places  his 
finger  on  his  lip,  which  expresses  the  Verbum  sh»i  ("  Vere 
Verbum  hoe  est  abbreviatum  "),  "I  am  the  word,"  or  "lam 
the  bread  of  life"  ("Ego  sum  panis  ill  vitae."  John  vi.  48); 
and  fixes  his  eyes  on   the  heavens  above,  where   the  angels  are 


242 


HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 


singing  the  Gloria  in  excelsis.  In  one  instance,  I  remember 
[by  Albertinelli],  an  angel  holds  up  the  cross  before  him  ;  in 
another,  he  grasps  it  in  his  hand ;  or  it  is  a  nail,  or  the  crown 
of  thorns,  anticipative  of  his  earthly  destiny.  The  Virgin  kneels 
on  one  side  ;  St.  Joseph,  when  introduced,  kneels  on  the  other  ; 
and  frequently  angels  unite  with  them  in  the  act  of  adoration, 
or  sustain  the  new-born  Child.  In  this  poetical  version  of 
the  subject,  Lorenzo  di  Credi,  Perugino,  Francia,  and  Bellini 


Nativity  (Lorenzo  di  Credi) 

excelled  all  others.  Lorenzo,  in  particular,  became  quite  re- 
nowned for  the  manner  in  which  he  treated  it,  and  a  number 
of  beautiful  compositions  from  his  hand  exist  in  the  Florentine 
and  other  galleries.  There  are  also  most  charming  examples 
in  sculpture  by  Luca  della  B-obbia,  Donatello,  and  other  mas- 
ters of  the  Florentine  school. 

There  are  instances  in  which  attendant  saints  and  votaries 
are  introduced  as  beholding  and  adoring  this  great  mystery. 
1.  For  instance,  in  a  picture  by  Cima  da  Conegliano  [in  the 
church  of  the  Carmine,  Venice],  Tobit  and  the  angel  are  in- 
troduced on  one  side,  and  St.  Helena  and  St.  Catherine  on  the 
other.  2.  In  a  picture  by  Francia,  in  the  Bologna  Gallery,  the 
Infant,  reclining  upon  a  white  napkin,  is  adored  by  the  kneel- 
ing Virgin,  by  St.  Augustine,  and  by  two  angels  also  kneeling. 


THE   NATIVITY  2-43 

The  votary,  Antonio  Galeazzo  Bentivoglio,  for  whom  the  pic- 
ture was  painted,  kneels  in  the  habit  of  a  pilgrim.1  He  had 
lately  returned  from  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem, 
thus  poetically  expressed  in  the  scene  of  the  Nativity,  and  the 
picture  was  dedicated  as  an  act  of  thanksgiving  as  well  as  of 
faith.  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Francis  stand  on  one  side ;  on  the 
other  is  a  shepherd  crowned  with  laurel.  Francia,  according 
to  tradition,  painted  his  own  portrait  as  St.  Francis  ;  and  his 
friend  the  poet  Girolamo  Casio  de'  Medici  as  the  shepherd. 
3.  In  a  large  and  famous  Nativity  by  Giulio  Romano  (Louvre), 
which  once  belonged  to  our  Charles  I.,  St.  John  the  Evangel- 
ist and  St.  Longinus  (who  pierced  our  Saviour's  side  with  his 
lance)  are  standing  on  each  side  as  two  witnesses  to  the  di- 
vinity of  Christ  —  here  strangely  enough  placed  on  a  par  ;  but 
we  are  reminded  that  Longinus  had  lately  been  inaugurated  as 
patron  of  Mantua.      {Vide  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art.) 

In  a  triptych  by  Hans  Mending2  (Berlin)  we  have  in  the 
centre  the  Child,  adored,  as  usual,  by  the  Virgin-mother  and 
attending  angels,  the  votary  also  kneeling :  in  the  compart- 
ment on  the  right  we  find  the  manifestation  of  the  Redeemer 
to  the  West  exhibited  in  the  prophecy  of  the  sibyl  to  Augus- 
tus ;  on  the  left,  the  manifestation  of  the  Redeemer  to  the 
East  is  expressed  by  the  journey  of  the  Magi,  and  the  miracu- 
lous star  —  "we  have  seen  his  star  in  the  east." 

But  of  all  these  ideal  Nativities,  the  most  striking  is  one  by 
Sandro  Botticelli,  which  is  indeed  a  comprehensive  poem,  a 
kind  of  hymn  on  the  Nativity,  and  might  be  set  to  music.  In 
the  centre  is  a  shed,  beneath  which  the  Virgin,  kneeling,  adores 
the  Child,  who  has  his  finger  on  his  lip.  Joseph  is  seen  a  lit- 
tle behind,  as  if  in  meditation.  On  the  right  hand,  the  angel 
presents  three  figures  ('probably  the  shepherds),  crowned  with 
olive  ;  on  the  left  is  a  similar  group.  On  the  roof  of  the  shed, 
three  angels,  with  olive-branches  in  their  hands,  sing  the 
Gloria  in  excelsis.  Above  these  are  twelve  angels  dancing 
or  floating  round  in  a  circle,  holding  olive-branches  between 
them.      In  the  foreground,  in  the  margin  of  the  picture,  three 

1  "An  excellent  likeness,"  savs  Vasari.  It  is  engraved  as  such  in  Litta's 
Memorial*  <>f  tin  -iH.     Girolamo  Casio  received  the  laurel  crown  from 

the  hand  ofClemenl  VII.  in  1523.  A  beautiful  votive  Madonna,  dedicated  by 
Girolamn  <  iasio  and  hia  Bon  Giacomo,  and  painted  by  Beltraffio,  i-  in  the  Louvre 

8  [Catalogued  to  Soger  van  dur  Weyden.] 


244  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

figures  rising  out  of  the  flames  of  purgatory  are  received  and 
embraced  by  angels.  With  all  its  faint  fantastic  grace  and 
dryness  of  execution,  the  whole  conception  is  full  of  meaning, 
religious  as  well  as  poetical.  The  introduction  of  the  olive 
and  the  redeemed  souls  may  express  "  peace  on  earth,  good-will 
towards  men  :  "  or  the  olive  may  likewise  refer  to  that  period 
of  universal  peace  in  which  the  Prince  of  Peace  was  born  into 
the  world.  This  singular  picture,  formerly  in  the  Ottley  col- 
lection, was,  when  I  saw  it,  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Fuller 
Maitland  of  Stansted  Park.  [It  was  purchased  by  the  Na- 
tional Gallery  in  1878.] 

I  must  mention  one  more  instance  for  its  extreme  beauty. 
In  a  picture  in  the  Pitti  at  Florence  [painter  unknown]  ,  the 
infant  Christ  lies  on  the  ground  on  a  part  of  the  veil  of  the 
Virgin,  and  holds  in  his  hand  a  bird.  In  the  background, 
the  miraculous  star  sheds  on  the  earth  a  perpendicular  blaze  of 
light,  and  farther  off  are  the  shepherds.  On  the  other  side, 
St.  Jerome,  introduced,  perhaps,  because  he  made  his  abode  at 
Bethlehem,  is  seated  beside  his  lion. 

The  Nativity  as  an  Event 

We  now  come  to  the  Nativity  as  historically  treated,  in 
which  time,  place,  and  circumstance  have  to  be  considered  as 
in  any  other  actual  event. 

The  time  was  the  depth  of  winter,  at  midnight ;  the  place 
a  poor  stable.  According  to  some  authorities,  this  stable  was 
the  interior  of  a  cavern,  still  shown  at  Bethlehem  as  the  scene 
of  the  Nativity ;  in  front  of  which  was  a  ruined  house,  once 
inhabited  by  Jesse,  the  father  of  David,  and  near  the  spot 
where  David  pastured  his  sheep  :  but  the  house  was  now  a 
shed  partly  thatched,  and  open  at  that  bitter  season  to  all 
the  winds  of  heaven.  Here  it  was  that  the  Blessed  Virgin 
"  brought  forth  her  first-born  Son,  wrapped  him  in  swaddling 
clothes,  and  laid  him  in  a  manger." 

We  find  in  the  early  Greek  representations,  and  in  the  early 
Italian  painters  who  imitated  the  Byzantine  models,  that  in  the 
arrangement  a  certain  pattern  was  followed  :  the  locality  is  a 
sort  of  cave  —  literally  a  hole  in  a  rock ;  the  Virgin-mother 
reclines  on  a  couch  ;  near  her  lies  the  new-born  Infant  wrapped 
in  swaddling  clothes.      In  one  very  ancient  example  (a  minia- 


THE   NATIVITY  245 

ture  of  the  ninth  century  in  a  Greek  Menologiuni),  an  attend- 
ant is  washing  the  Child. 

But  from  the  fourteenth  century  we  find  this  treatment  dis- 
continued. It  gave  just  offence.  The  greatest  theologians 
insisted  that  the  birth  of  the  Infant  Christ  was  as  pure  and 
miraculous  as  his  conception  :  and  it  was  considered  little  less 
than  heretical  to  portray  Mary  reclining  on  a  couch  as  one 
exhausted  by  the  pangs  of  childbirth  (Isaiah  lxvi.  7),  or  to 
exhibit  assistants  as  washing  the  heavenly  Infant.  "  To  her 
alone,"  says  St.  Bernard,  "  did  not  the  punishment  of  Eve 
extend."  "Not  in  sorrow,"  says  Bishop  Taylor,  "  not  in  pain, 
but  in  the  posture  and  guise  of  worshippers  (that  is,  kneeling), 
and  in  the  midst  of  glorious  thoughts  and  speculations,  did 
Mary  bring  her  Son  into  the  world." 

We  must  seek  for  the  accessories  and  circumstances  usu- 
ally introduced  by  the  painters  in  the  old  legendary  traditions 
then  accepted  and  believed.  (Protevangelion,  xiv.)  Thus  one 
legend  relates  that  Joseph  went  to  seek  a  midwife,  and  met 
a  woman  coming  down  from  the  mountains,  with  whom  he 
returned  to  the  stable.  But  when  they  entered  it  was  filled 
with  light  greater  than  the  sun  at  noon-day  ;  and  as  the  light 
decreased  and  they  were  able  to  open  their  eyes,  they  beheld 
Mary  sitting  there  with  her  Infant  at  her  bosom.  And  the 
Hebrew  woman,  being  amazed,  said,  "  Can  this  be  true  ?  "  and 
Alary  anwered,  "  It  is  true  ;  as  there  is  no  child  like  unto  my 
Son,  so  there  is  no  woman  like  unto  his  mother." 

These  circumstances  Ave  find  in  some  of  the  early  representa- 
tions, more  or  less  modified  by  the  taste  of  the  artist.  I  have 
seen,  for  instance,  an  old  German  print,  in  which  the  Virgin, 
"  in  the  posture  and  guise  of  worshippers,"  kneels  before  her 
child  as  usual ;  while  the  background  exhibits  a  hilly  country, 
and  Joseph,  with  a  lantern  in  his  hand,  is  helping  a  woman 
over  a  stile.  Sometimes  there  are  two  women,  and  then  the 
second  is  always  .Mary  Salome,  who,  according  to  a  passage  in 
the  same  popular  authority,  visited  the  mother  in  her  hour  of 
travail. 

The  angelic  choristers  in  the  sky,  or  upon  the  roof  of  the 
stable,  sing  the  Gloria  in  excelsis  Deo  ;  they  arc  never.  1 
believe,  omitted,  and  in  early  pictures  are  always  three  in 
number;    but    in    later    pictures    the    mystic   three   become  a 


246  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

chorus  of  musicians.  Joseph  is  generally  sitting  by,  leaning 
on  his  staff  in  profound  meditation,  or  asleep  as  one  overcome 
by  fatigue  ;  or  with  a  taper  or  a  lantern  in  his  hand,  to  express 
the  night-time. 

Among  the  accessories,  the  ox  and  the  ass  are  indispensable. 
The  introduction  of  these  animals  rests  on  an  antique  tradition 
mentioned  by  St.  Jeronie,  and  also  on  two  texts  of  prophecy  : 
"  The  ox  knoweth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib " 
(Isaiah  i.  3)  ;  and  Habakkuk  iii.  4  is  rendered  in  the  Vulgate, 
"  He  shall  lie  down  between  the  ox  and  the  ass."  From  the 
sixth  century,  which  is  the  supposed  date  of  the  earliest  extant, 
to  the  sixteenth  century,  there  was  never  any  representation 
of  the  Nativity  without  these  two  animals ;  thus  in  the  old 
carol  so  often  quoted  — 

Agnovit  bos  et  asinus 
Quod  Puer  erat  Dominus ! 

In  some  of  the  earliest  pictures  the  animals  kneel,  "  confess- 
ing the  Lord  "  (Isaiah  xliii.  20).  In  some  instances  they 
stare  into  the  manger  with  a  most  naive  expression  of  amaze- 
ment at  what  they  find  there.  One  of  the  old  Latin  hymns, 
De  Nativitate  Domini,  describes  them,  in  that  wintry  night, 
as  warming  the  new-born  Infant  with  their  breath  ;  and  they 
have  always  been  interpreted  as  symbols,  the  ox  as  emblem  of 
the  Jews,  the  ass  of  the  Gentiles. 

I  wonder  if  it  has  ever  occurred  to  those  who  have  studied 
the  inner  life  and  meaning  of  these  old  representations  —  owed 
to  them,  perhaps,  homilies  of  wisdom,  as  well  as  visions  of 
poetry  —  that  the  introduction  of  the  ox  and  the  ass,  those 
symbols  of  animal  servitude  and  inferiority,  might  be  otherwise 
translated ;  that  their  pathetic  dumb  recognition  of  the  Saviour 
of  the  world  might  be  interpreted  as  extending  to  them  also  a 
participation  in  his  mission  of  love  and  mercy ;  that  since  to 
the  lower  creatures  it  was  not  denied  to  be  present  at  that 
great  manifestation,  they  are  thus  brought  nearer  to  the  sym- 
pathies of  our  humanity,  as  we  are  thereby  lifted  to  a  nearer 
communion  with  the  universal  spirit  of  love.  But  this  is 
"  considering  too  deeply,"  perhaps,  for  the  occasion.  Return 
we  to  our  pictures.  Certainly  we  are  not  in  danger  of  being 
led  into  any  profound  or  fanciful  speculations  by  the  ignorant 
painters  of  the  later  schools  of  Art.  In  their  "Nativities" 
the  ox  and  ass  are  not,  indeed,  omitted ;   they  must  be  present 


THE    NATIVITY  247 

by  religious  and  prescriptive  usage ;  but  they  are  to  be  made 
picturesque,  as  if  they  were  in  the  stable  by  right,  and  as  if 
it  were  only  a  stable,  not  a  temple  hallowed  to  a  diviner  signifi- 
cance. The  ass,  instead  of  looking  devoutly  into  the  cradle, 
stretches  out  his  lazy  length  in  the  foreground ;  the  ox  winks 
his  eyes  with  a  more  than  bovine  stupidity.  In  some  of  the 
old  German  pictures,  while  the  Hebrew  ox  is  quietly  chewing 
the  cud,  the  Gentile  ass  "  lifts  up  his  voice  "  and  brays  with 
open  mouth,  as  if  in  triumph. 

One  version  of  this  subject,  by  Agnolo  Gaddi,  is  conceived 
with  much  simplicity  and  originality.  The  Virgin  and  Joseph 
are  seen  together  within  a  rude  and  otherwise  solitary  building. 
She  points  expressively  to  the  manger  where  lies  the  divine 
Infant,  while  Joseph  leans  on  his  staff  and  appears  lost  in 
thought. 

Correggio  has  been  much  admired  for  representing  in  his 
famous  Nativity  the  whole  picture  as  lighted  by  the  glory 
which  proceeds  from  the  divine  Infant,  as  if  the  idea  had  been 
new  and  original.  ("  La  Notte,"  Dresden  Gallery.)  It  occurs 
frequently  before  and  since  his  time,  and  is  founded  on  the 
legendary  story  quoted  above,  which  describes  the  cave  or 
stable  rilled  with  a  dazzling  and  supernatural  light. 

It  is  not  often  we  find  the  Nativity  represented  as  an  his- 
torical event  without  the  presence  of  the  shepherds  ;  nor  is  the 
supernatural  announcement  to  the  shepherds  often  treated  as  a 
separate  subject :  it  generally  forms  part  of  the  background  of 
the  Nativity  ;   but  there  are  some  striking  examples. 

In  a  print  by  Rembrandt  he  has  emulated,  in  picturesque 
and  poetical  treatment,  his  famous  Vision  of  Jacob,  in  the  Dul- 
wich  Gallery.1  The  angel  (always  supposed  to  be  Gabriel) 
a] ipears  in  a  burst  of  radiance  through  the  black  wintry  mid- 
night surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host.  The 
shepherds  fall  prostrate,  as  men  amazed  and  "sore  afraid" 
(Luke  ii.  9),  the  cattle  flee  different  ways  in  terror.  I  do  not 
say  that  this  is  the  most  elevated  way  of  expressing  the  scene  ; 
but,  as  an  example  of  characteristic  style,  it  is  perfect. 

1  [The  Dulwich  painting  of  Jacob's  Dream  is  now  catalogued  as  belonging  to 
the  school  of  Rembrandt.] 


248  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 


The  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds 

Ital.  L'  Adorazione  dei  Pastori.     Fr.  L' Adoration  des  Bergers. 
Ger.  Die  Anbetung  der  Hirten. 

The  story  thus  proceeds :  When  the  angels  were  gone  away 
into  heaven,  the  shepherds  came  with  haste,  "  and  found  Mar}r, 
and  Joseph,  and  the  young  Child  lying  in  a  manger." 

Being  come,  they  present  their  pastoral  offerings  —  a  lamb, 
or  doves,  or  fruits  (but  these,  considering  the  season,  are  mis- 
placed) ;  they  take  off  their  hats  with  reverence,  and  worship 
in  rustic  fashion.  In  Raphael's  composition  [one  of  the  panels 
of  the  Loggia,  Vatican],  the  shepherds,  as  we  might  expect 
from  him,  look  as  if  they  had  lived  in  Arcadia.  In  some  of 
the  later  Italian  pictures  they  pipe  and  sing.  It  is  the  well- 
known  custom  in  Italy  for  the  shepherds  of  the  Campagna, 
and  of  Calabria,  to  pipe  before  the  Madonna  and  Child  at 
Christmas  time ;  and  these  piffereH,  with  their  sheepskin 
jackets,  ragged  hats,  bagpipes,  and  tabors,  were  evidently  the 
models  reproduced  in  some  of  the  finest  pictures  of  the  Bolo- 
gnese  school ;  for  instance,  in  the  famous  Nativity  by  Annibal 
Caracci,  where  a  picturesque  figure  in  the  corner  is  blowing 
into  the  bagpipes  with  might  and  main.  In  the  Venetian 
pictures  of  the  Nativity,  the  shepherds  are  accompanied  by 
their  women,  their  sheep,  and  even  their  dogs.  According  to 
an  old  legend,  Simon  and  Jude,  afterwards  apostles,  were 
among  these  shepherds. 

When  the  angels  scatter  flowers,  as  in  compositions  by 
Raphael  and  Ludovico  Caracci,  we  must  suppose  that  they 
were  not  gathered  on  earth,  but  in  heaven. 

The  Infant  is  sometimes  asleep  :  so  Milton  sings  — 

But  see  the  Virgin  blest 
Hath  laid  her  Babe  to  rest ! 

In  a  drawing  by  Raphael  the  Child  slumbers,  and  Joseph 
raises  the  coverlid  to  show  him  to  a  shepherd.  We  have  the 
same  idea  in  several  other  instances.  In  a  graceful  composition 
by  Titian,  it  is  the  Virgin-mother  who  raises  the  veil  from  the 
face  of  the  sleeping  Child. 

From  the  number  of  figures  and  accessories,  the  Nativity 
thus  treated  as  an  historical  subject  becomes  capable  of  almost 


THE  ADORATION  OF  THE  SHEPHERDS 


249 


Adoration  of  the  Shepherds  (Mengs) 


endless  variety  ;  but  as  it  is  one  not  to  be  mistaken,  and  has  a 
vini  versal  meaning  and  interest,  I  may  now  leave  it  to  the  fancy 
and  discrimination  of  the  observer. 


250  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 


The  Adoration  of  the  Magi 

Ital.  L'  Adorazione  de'  Magi.  L'  Epifania.  Fr.  L'  Adoration  des 
Rois  Mages.  Ger.  Die  Anbetung  der  Weisen  aus  dem  Morgen- 
land.     Die  heilige  drei  Konigen.     (Jan.  6.) 

This,  the  most  extraordinary  incident  in  the  early  life  of 
our  Saviour,  rests  on  the  authority  of  one  evangelist  only.  It 
is  related  by  St.  Matthew  so  briefly  as  to  present  many  histor- 
ical and  philosophical  difficulties.'  I  must  give  some  idea  of 
the  manner  in  which  these  difliculties  were  elucidated  by  the 
early  commentators,  and  of  the  notions  which  prevailed  in  the 
middle  ages  relative  to  the  country  of  the  three  Kings,  before 
it  will  be  possible  to  understand  or  to  appreciate  the  subject 
as  it  has  been  set  before  us  in  every  style  of  Art,  in  every 
form,  in  every  material,  from  the  tlrrd  century  to  the  present 
time. 

In  the  first  place,  who  were  these  Magi,  or  these  kings,  as 
they  are  sometimes  styled  ?  "  To  suppose,"  says  the  antique 
legend,  "that  they  were  called  Magi  because  they  were  ad- 
dicted to  magic,  or  exercised  unholy  or  forbidden  arts,  would 
be,  heaven  save  us !  a  rank  heresy."  No  !  Magi,  in  the  Per- 
sian tongue,  signifies  "  wise  men."  They  were,  in  their  own 
country,  kings  or  princes,  as  it  is  averred  by  all  the  ancient 
fathers  ;  and  we  are  not  to  be  offended  at  the  assertion,  that 
they  were  at  once  princes  and  wise  men  —  "  Car  a  1' usage  de 
ce  temps-Ik  les  princes  et  les  rois  dtoient  tres  sages !  "  * 

They  came  from  the  eastern  country,  but  from  what  country 
is  not  said ;  whether  from  the  land  of  the  Arabians,  or  the 
Chaldeans,  or  the  Persians,  or  the  Parthians. 

It  is  written  in  the  Book  of  Numbers,  that  when  Balaam, 
the  son  of  Beor,  was  called  upon  to  curse  the  children  of  Israel, 
he,  by  divine  inspiration,  uttered  a  blessing  instead  of  a  curse. 
And  he  took  up  this  parable,  and  said,  "  I  shall  see  him,  but 
not  now  ;  I  shall  behold  him,  but  not  nigh  :  there  shall  come 
a  star  out  of  Jacob,  and  a  sceptre  shall  rise  out  of  Israel." 
And  the  people  of  that  country,  though  they  were  Gentiles, 
kept  this  prophecy  as  a  tradition  among  them,  and  waited  with 
faith    and    hope    for   its    fulfilment.      When,    therefore,   their 

1  Quoted  literally  from  the  legend  in  the  old  French  version  of  the  Flos  Sanc- 
torum.    [For  in  those  days  princes  and  kings  were  usually  very  wise.] 


THE    ADORATION    OF   THE    MAGI  251 

princes  and  wise  men  beheld  a  star  different  in  its  appearance 
and  movement  from  those  which  they  had  been  accustomed  to 
study  (for  they  were  great  astronomers),  they  at  once  knew  its 
import,  and  hastened  to  follow  its  guidance.  According  to  an 
ancient  commentary  on  St.  Matthew,  this  star,  on  its  first 
appearance,  had  the  form  of  a  radiant  child  hearing  a  sceptre 
or  cross.  In  a  fresco  by  Taddeo  Gaddi  it  is  thus  figured,  and 
this  is  the  only  instance  I  can  remember.  But  to  proceed  with 
our  story. 

When  the  eastern  sages  beheld  this  wondrous  ami  long- 
expected  star,  they  rejoiced  greatly  ;  and  they  arose,  and  taking 
leave  of  their  lands  and  their  vassals,  their  relations  and  their 
friends,  set  forth  on  their  long  and  perilous  journey  across  vast 
deserts  and  mountains  and  broad  rivers,  the  star  going  before 
them,  and  arrived  at  length  at  Jerusalem,  with  a  great  and 
splendid  train  of  attendants.  Being  come  there,  they  asked  at 
once,  "  Where  is  he  who  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  ?  "  On 
hearing  this  question,  King  Herod  was  troubled,  and  all  the 
city  with  him  ;  and  he  inquired  of  the  chief  priests  where 
Christ  should  be  born.  And  they  said  to  him,  "  In  Bethlehem 
of  Judea."  Then  Herod  privately  called  the  wise  men,  and 
desired  they  would  go  to  Bethlehem,  and  search  for  the  young 
Child  (he  was  careful  not  to  call  him  King),  saying,  "  When 
ye  have  found  him,  bring  me  word,  that  I  may  come  and  wor- 
ship him  also."  So  the  Magi  departed,  and  the  star  which  they 
had  seen  in  the  east  went  before  them,  until  it  stood  over  the 
place  where  the  young  Child  was  —  he  who  was  born  King  of 
kings.  They  had  travelled  many  a  long  and  weary  mile  ;  ,-  and 
what  had  they  come  for  to  see?"  Instead  of  a  sumptuous 
palace,  a  mean  and  lowly  dwelling;  in  place  of  a  monarch  sur- 
rounded by  his  guards  and  ministers  and  all  the  terrors  of  his 
state,  an  Infant  wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes  and  laid  upon 
his  mother's  knee,  between  the  ox  and  the  ass.  They  had 
come,  perhaps,  from  some  far-distant  savage  land,  or  from  some 
nation  calling  itself  civilized,  where  innocence  had  never  been 
accounted  sacred,  where  society  had  as  yet  taken  no  heed  of 
the  defenceless  woman,  no  care  for  the  helpless  Child  ;  where 
the  one  was  enslaved,  and  the  other  perverted  ;  and  here,  under 
the  form  of  womanhood  and  childhood,  they  were  called  upon 
to  worship  the  promise  of  that  brighter  future,  when  peace 
should  inherit  the  earth,  and  righteousness  prevail  over  deceit, 


252  HISTOEICAL   SUBJECTS 

and  gentleness  with  wisdom  reign  for  ever  and  ever !  How 
must  they  have  been  amazed  !  how  must  they  have  wondered 
in  their  souls  at  such  a  revelation  !  —  yet  such  was  the  faith 
of  these  wise  men  and  excellent  kings,  that  they  at  once  pros- 
trated themselves,  confessing  in  the  glorious  Innocent  who 
smiled  upon  them  from  his  mother's  knee,  a  greater  than  them- 
selves —  the  image  of  a  truer  divinity  than  they  had  ever  yet 
acknowledged.  And  having  bowed  themselves  down,  —  first, 
as  was  most  fit,  offering  themselves,  —  they  made  offering  of 
their  treasure,  as  it  had  been  written  in  ancient  times,  "  The 
kings  of  Tarshish  and  the  isles  shall  bring  presents,  and  the 
kings  of  Sheba  shall  offer  gifts."  And  what  were  these  gifts  ? 
Gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh  ;  by  which  symbolical  oblation 
they  protested  a  threefold  faith  :  by  gold,  that  he  was  king  ; 
by  incense,  that  he  was  God ;  by  myrrh,  that  he  was  man,  and 
doomed  to  death.  In  return  for  their  gifts,  the  Saviour  be- 
stowed upon  them  others  of  more  matchless  price.  For  their 
gold  he  gave  them  charity  and  spiritual  riches ;  for  their  in- 
cense, perfect  faith  ;  and  for  their  myrrh,  perfect  truth  and 
meekness  :  and  the  Virgin,  his  mother,  also  bestowed  on  them 
a  precious  gift  and  memorial,  namely,  one  of  those  linen  bands 
in  which  she  had  wrapped  the  Saviour,  for  which  they  thanked 
her  with  great  humility,  and  laid  it  up  amongst  their  treasures. 
When  they  had  performed  their  devotions,  and  made  their 
offerings,  being  warned  in  a  dream  to  avoid  Herod,  they  turned 
back  again  to  their  own  dominions  ;  and  the  star  which  had 
formerly  guided  them  to  the  west  now  went  before  them  to- 
wards the  east,  and  led  them  safely  home.  When  they  were 
arrived  there,  they  laid  down  their  earthly  state  ;  and  in  emula- 
tion of  the  poverty  and  humility  in  which  they  had  found  the 
Lord  of  all  power  and  might,  they  distributed  their  goods  and 
possessions  to  the  poor,  and  went  about  in  mean  attire,  preach- 
ing to  their  people  the  new  King  of  heaven  and  earth,  the 
Child-King,  the  Prince  of  Peace.  We  are  not  told  what  was 
the  success  of  their  mission  ;  neither  is  it  anywhere,  recorded 
that  from  that  time  forth  every  child,  as  it  sat  on  its  mother's 
knee,  was,  even  for  the  sake  of  that  Prince  of  Peace,  regarded 
as  sacred — as  the  heir  of  a  divine  nature  —  as  one  whose  tiny 
limbs  enfolded  a  spirit  which  was  to  expand  into  the  man,  the 
king,  the  God.  Such  a  result  was.  perhaps,  reserved  for  other 
times,  when  the  whole  mission  of  that  Divine  Child  should  be 


THE   ADORATION   OF   THE   MAGI  253 

better  understood  than  it  was  then,  or  is  now.  But  there  is 
an  ancient  oriental  tradition  that  about  forty  years  later,  when 
St.  Thomas  the  apostle  travelled  into  the  Indies,  he  found 
these  wise  men  there,  and  did  administer  to  them  the  rite  of 
baptism ;  and  that  afterwards,  in  carrying  the  light  of  truth 
into  the  far  East,  they  fell  among  barbarous  Gentiles  and 
were  put  to  death  ;  thus  each  of  them  receiving,  in  return  for 
the  earthly  crowns  they  had  cast  at  the  feet  of  the  Saviour, 
the  heavenly  crown  of  martyrdom  and  of  everlasting  life. 

Their  remains,  long  afterwards  discovered,  were  brought  to 
Constantinople  by  the  Empress  Helena  ;  thence  in  the  time  of 
the  first  crusade  they  were  transported  to  Milan,  whence  they 
were  carried  off  by  the  Emperor  Barbarossa,  and  deposited  in 
the  cathedral  at  Cologne,  where  they  remain  to  this  day,  laid 
in  a  shrine  of  gold  and  gems,  and  have  performed  divers  great 
and  glorious  miracles. 

Such,  in  few  words,  is  the  Church  legend  of  the  Magi  of 
the  East,  the  "  Three  Kings  of  Cologne,"  as  founded  on  the 
mysterious  gospel  incident.  Statesmen  and  philosophers,  not 
less  than  ecclesiastics,  have,  as  yet,  missed  the  whole  sense 
and  large  interpretation  of  the  mystic  as  well  as  the  scrip- 
tural story,  but  well  have  the  artists  availed  themselves  of  its 
picturesque  capabilities  !  In  their  hands  it  has  gradually 
expanded  from  a  mere  symbol  into  a  scene  of  the  most  dra- 
matic and  varied  effect  and  the  most  gorgeous  splendor.  As  a 
subject  it  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  in  the  whole  range  of 
Christian  Ait.  Taken  in  the  early  religious  sense,  it  signified 
the  calling  of  the  Gentiles ;  and  as  such  we  find  it  carved  in 
bas-relief  on  the  Christian  sarcophagi  of  the  third  and  fourth 
centuries,  and  represented  with  extreme  simplicity.  The  Vir- 
gin-mother is  seated  on  a  chair,  and  holds  the  Infant  upright 
on  her  knee.  The  Wise  Men,  always  three  in  number,  ami 
all  alike,  approach  in  attitudes  of  adoration.  In  some  in- 
stances they  wear  Phrygian  caps,  and  their  camels'  heads 
are  seen  behind  them,  serving  to  express  the  land  whence  they 
came,  the  land  of  the  East,  as  well  as  their  long  journey;  as 
on  one  of  the  sarcophagi  in  the  Christian  Museum  of  the  Vati- 
can. The  star  in  these  antique  sculptures  is  generally  omitted  ; 
but  in  one  or  two  instances  it  stands  immediately  over  the 
chair  of  the  Virgin.      On  a  sarcophagus   near  the   entrance   of 


254  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

the  tomb  of  Galla  Placidia,  at  Ravenna,  they  are  thus  repre- 
sented. 

The  mosaic  in  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  at  Rome, 
is  somewhat  later  in  date  than  these  sarcophagi  (a.  d.  440), 
and  the  representation  is  very  peculiar  and  interesting.  Here 
the  Child  is  seated  alone  on  a  kind  of  square  pedestal,  with 
his  hand  raised  in  benediction  ;  behind  the  throne  stand  two 
figures,  supposed  to  be  the  Virgin  and  Joseph  ;  on  each  side, 
two  angels.  The  kings  approach,  dressed  as  Roman  warriors, 
with  helmets  on  their  heads. 

In  the  mosaic  in  the  church  of  Sant'  Apollinare  Nuovo,  at 
Ravenna  (a.  d.  534),  the  Virgin  receives  them  seated  on  a 
throne,  attended  by  the  archangels ;  they  approach,  wearing 
crowns  on  their  heads,  and  bending  in  attitudes  of  reverence : 
all  three  figures  are  exactly  alike,  and  rather  less  in  proportion 
than  the  divine  group. 

Immediately  on  the  revival  of  Art  we  find  the  Adoration 
of  the  Kings  treated  in  the  Byzantine  style,  with  few  acces- 
sories. Very  soon,  however,  in  the  early  Florentine  school, 
the  artists  began  to  avail  themselves  of  that  picturesque  variety 
of  groups  of  which  the  storj7  admitted. 

In  the  legends  of  the  fourteenth  century  the  kings  had 
become  distinct  personages,  under  the  names  of  Caspar  (or  Jas- 
per), Melchior,  and  Balthasar :  the  first  being  always  a  very 
aged  man  with  a  long  white  beard  ;  the  second  a  middle-aged 
man ;  the  third  is  young,  and  frequently  he  is  a  Moor  or  ne- 
gro, to  express  the  king  of  Ethiopia  or  Nubia,  and  also  to  in- 
dicate that  when  the  Gentiles  were  called  to  salvation,  all  the 
continents  and  races  of  the  earth,  of  whatever  complexion, 
were  included.  The  difference  of  ages  is  indicated  in  the 
Greek  formula;  but  the  difference  of  complexion  is  a  modern 
innovation,  and  more  frequently  found  in  the  German  than  in 
the  Italian  schools.  In  the  old  legend  of  the  Three  Kings,  as 
inserted  in  Wright's  "Chester  Mysteries,"  Jasper,  or  Caspar, 
is  king  of  Tarsus,  the  land  of  merchants ;  he  makes  the  offer- 
ing of  gold  ;  Melchior,  the  king  of  Arabia  and  Nubia,  offers 
frankincense ;  and  Balthasar,  king  of  Saba,  — "  the  land  of 
spices  and  all  manner  of  precious  gums,"  —  offers  myrrh.1 

1  The  names  of  the  three  Kings  appear  for  the  first  time  in  a  piece  of  rude 
sculpture  over  the  door  of  Sant'  Andrea  at  Pistoia,  to  which  is  assigned  the  date 
1166.     (Vide  D'Agincourt,  Scultura,  pi.  xxvii.) 


THE   ADORATION   OF   THE   MAGI  255 

It  is  very  usual  to  find,  in  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  the 
angelic  announcement  to  the  shepherds  introduced  into  the 
background;  or,  more  poetically,  the  Magi  approaching  on  one 
side,  and  the  shepherds  on  the  other.  The  intention  is  then 
to  express  a  double  signification  ;  it  is  at  once  the  manifesta- 
tion to  the  Jews  and  the  manifestation  to  the  Gentiles. 

The  attitude  of  the  Child  varies.  In  the  best  pictures  he 
raises  his  little  hand  in  benediction.  The  objection  that  he 
was  then  only  an  infant  of  a  few  days  old  is  futile;  for  he  was 
from  his  birth  the  Christ.  It  is  also  in  accordance  with  the 
beautiful  and  significant  legend  which  describes  him  as  dispens- 
ing to  the  old  Wise  Men  the  spiritual  blessings  of  love,  meek- 
ness, and  perfect  faith,  in  return  for  their  gifts  and  their 
homage.  It  appears  to  me  bad  taste,  verging  on  profanity,  to 
represent  him  plunging  his  little  hand  into  the  coffer  of  gold, 
or  eagerly  grasping  one  of  the  gold  pieces.  Neither  should  he 
be  wrapped  up  in  swaddling  clothes,  nor  in  any  way  a  subor- 
dinate figure  in  the  group ;  for  it  is  the  Epiphany,  the  Mani- 
festation of  a  divine  humanity  to  Jews  and  Gentiles,  which  is 
to  be  expressed  ;  and  there  is  meaning  as  well  as  beauty  in 
those  compositions  which  represent  the  Virgin  as  lifting  a  veil, 
and  showing  him  to  the  Wise  Men. 

The  kingly  character  of  the  adorers,  which  became  in  the 
thirteenth  century  a  point  of  faith,  is  expressed  by  giving  them 
all  the  paraphernalia  and  pomp  of  royalty  according  to  the 
customs  of  the  time  in  which  the  artist  lived.  They  are  fol- 
lowed by  a  vast  train  of  attendants,  guards,  pages,  grooms, 
falconers  with  hawks  ;  and,  in  a  picture  by  Gaudenzio  Ferrari, 
we  have  the  court-dwarf,  and,  in  a  picture  by  Titian,  the  court- 
fool,  both  indispensable  appendages  of  royal  state  in  those 
times.  The  Kings  themselves  wear  embroidered  robes,  crowns, 
and  glittering  weapons,  and  are  booted  and  spurred  as  if  just 
alighted  from  a  long  journey;  even  on  one  of  the  sarcophagi 
they  are  seen  in  spurs. 

The  early  Florentine  and  Venetian  painters  profited  by  the 
commercial  relations  of  their  countries  with  the  Levant,  and 
introduced  all  kinds  of  outlandish  and  oriental  accessories  to 
express  the  far  country  from  which  the  strangers  had  arrived  ; 
thus  we  have  among  the  presents,  apes,  peacocks,  pheasants, 
and  parrots.  The  traditions  of  the  crusades  also  came  in  aid, 
and  hence  we  have  the  plumed  and  jewelled  turbans,  the  arm- 


256  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

lets  and  the  scimitars,  and,  in  the  later  pictures,  even  umbrellas 
and  .elephants.  I  remember,  in  an  old  Italian  print  of  this 
subject,  a  pair  of  hunting  leopards  or  clietas. 

It  is  a  question  whether  Joseph  was  present  —  whether  he 
ought  to  have  been  present :  in  one  of  the  early  legends  it  is 
asserted  that  he  hid  himself  and  would  not  appear,  out  of  his 
great  humility,  and  because  it  should  not  be  supposed  that  he 
arrogated  any  relationship  to  the  divine  Child.  But  this  ver- 
sion of  the  scene  is  quite  inconsistent  with  the  extreme  vener- 
ation afterwards  paid  to  Joseph  ;  and  in  later  times,  that  is, 
from  the  fifteenth  century,  he  is  seldom  omitted.  Sometimes 
he  is  seen  behind  the  chair  of  the  Virgin,  leaning  on  his  stick, 
and  contemplating  the  scene  with  a  quiet  admiration.  Some- 
times he  receives  the  gifts  offered  to  the  Child,  acting  the  part 
of  a  treasurer  or  chamberlain.  In  a  picture  by  Angelico  one 
of  the  Magi  grasps  his  hand  as  if  in  congratulation.  In  a 
composition  by  Parmigiano  one  of  the  Magi  embraces  him. 

It  was  not  uncommon  for  pious  votaries  to  have  themselves 
painted  in  likeness  of  one  of  the  adoring  Kings.  In  a  pic- 
ture by  Sandro  Botticelli  (Uffizi,  Florence),  Cosmo  de'  Medici 
is  thus  introduced  ;  and  in  a  large  and  beautifully  arranged 
composition  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  which  unhappily  remains  as 
a  sketch  only,  the  three  Medici  of  that  time,  Cosmo,  Lorenzo, 
and  Giuliano,  are  figured  as  the  three  Kings.  (Uffizi,  Flor- 
ence.) 

A  very  remarkable  altar-piece  [catalogued  to  Gerard  David] 
represents  the  worship  of  the  Magi.  In  the  centre,  Mary  and 
her  Child  are  seated  within  a  ruined  temple  ;  the  eldest  of  the 
three  Kings,  kneeling,  does  homage  by  kissing  the  hand  of 
the  Child :  it  is  the  portrait  of  Philip  the  Good,  duke  of  Bur- 
gundy. The  second,  prostrate  behind  him  with  a  golden 
beaker  in  his  hand,  is  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  great  officers 
of  his  household.  The  third  King  exhibits  the  characteristic 
portrait  of  Charles  the  Bold  ;  there  is  no  expression  of  humility 
or  devotion  either  in  his  countenance  or  attitude ;  he  stands 
upright,  with  a  lofty  disdainful  air,  as  if  he  were  yet  unre- 
solved whether  he  would  kneel  or  not.  On  the  right  of  the 
Virgin,  a  little  in  the  foreground,  stands  Joseph  in  a  plain  red 
dress,  holding  his  hat  in  his  hand,  and  looking  with  an  air  of 
simple  astonishment  at  his  magnificent  guests.  All  the  ac- 
cessories in  this  picture,  the  gold  and  silver  vessels,  the  dresses 


*fi?!> 


wM!fm 


ADORATION    OF  THE    KINGS  (Ghirlandajo) 


THE    ADORATION    OF   THK    MAGI 


257 


of  the  three  Kings  sparkling  with  jewels  and  pearls,  the  vel- 
vets, silks,  and  costly  furs,  arc  painted  with  the  most  exquisite 
finish  and  delicacy,  and  exhibit  to  us  the  riches  of  the  court 
of  Burgundy.      (Munich.) 

In  Raphael's  composition  (Rome,  Vatican)  the  worshippers 
wear  the  classical,  not  the  oriental  costume  ;  hut  an  elephant 
with  a  monkey  on  his  hack  is  seen  in  the  distance,  which  at 
once  reminds  us  of  the  far  East. 

Ghirlandajo  frequently  painted  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi, 


Adoration  of  the  Kings  (Memling) 


and  shows  in  his  management  of  the  accessories  much  taste 
and  symmetry.  In  one  of  his  compositions  the  shed  forms  a 
canopy  in  the  centre  ;  two  of  the  Kings  kneel  in  front.  The 
country  of  the  Ethiopian  King  is  not  expressed  by  making 
him  of  m  black  complexion,  but  by  giving  him  a  negro  page, 
who  is  in  the  act  of  removing  his  master's  crown.  (Florence, 
Pitti.) 

A  very  complete  example  of  artificial  and  elaborate  compo- 
sition may  be  found  iii  the  drawing  by  Baldassare  Peruzzi  in 


258  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

our  National  Gallery.  It  contains  at  least  fifty  figures ;  in 
the  centre,  a  magnificent  architectural  design ;  and  wonderful 
studies  of  perspective  to  the  right  and  left,  in  the  long  lines 
of  receding  groups.  On  the  whole,  it  is  a  most  skilful  piece 
of  work ;  but  to  my  taste  much  like  a  theatrical  decoration,  — 
pompous  without  being  animated. 

A  beautiful  composition  by  Francia  I  must  not  pass  over.1 
Here,  to  the  left  of  the  picture,  the  Virgin  is  seated  on  the  steps 
of  a  ruined  temple,  against  which  grows  a  fig-tree,  which,  though 
it  be  December,  is  in  full  leaf.  Joseph  kneels  at  her  side,  and 
behind  her  are  two  Arcadian  shepherds,  with  the  ox  and  the  ass. 
The  Virgin,  who  has  a  charming  air  of  modesty  and  sweetness, 
presents  her  Child  to  the  adoration  of  the  Wise  Men  :  the  first 
of  these  kneels  with  joined  hands  :  the  second,  also  kneeling, 
is  about  to  present  a  golden  vase ;  the  negro  King,  standing, 
has  taken  off  his  cap,  and  holds  a  censer  in  his  hand  ;  and 
the  divine  Infant  raises  his  hand  in  benediction.  Behind  the 
Kings  are  three  figures  on  foot,  one  a  beautiful  youth  in  an 
attitude  of  adoration.  Bej'ond  these  are  five  or  six  figures  on 
horseback,  and  a  long  train  upon  horses  and  camels  is  seen  ap- 
proaching in  the  background.  The  landscape  is  very  beautiful 
and  cheerful ;  the  whole  picture  much  in  the  style  of  Francia's 
master,  Lorenzo  Costa.  I  should  at  the  first  glance  have  sup- 
posed it  to  be  his,  but  the  head  of  the  Virgin  is  unmistakably 
Francia. 

There  are  instances  of  this  subject,  idealized  into  a  mystery  ; 
for  example,  in  a  picture  by  Palma  Vecchio.  (Milan,  Brera.) 
St.  Helena  stands  behind  the  Virgin,  in  allusion  to  the  legend 
which  connects  her  with  the  history  of  the  Kings.  [The  pic- 
ture was  painted  for  the  church  of  S.  Elena  in  Isola,  near 
Venice.  As  the  master  fell  ill  before  it  was  finished,  it  is 
probable  that  the  work  was  completed  by  his  pupil  Cariani.2] 
In  a  picture  by  Garofalo,  the  star  shining  above  is  attended  by 
angels  bearing  the  instruments  of  the  Passion,  while  St.  Bar- 
tholomew, holding  his  skin,  stands  near  the  Virgin  and  Child  : 
it  was  painted  for  the  abbey  of  St.  Bartholomew,  at  Ferrara. 

Among  the  German  examples,  the  picture  by  Albert  Diirer, 

1  Dresden  Gallery.  Arnold,  the  well-known  print-seller  at  Dresden,  has  pub- 
lished a  very  beautiful  and  finished  engraving  of  this  fine  picture;  the  more 
valuable,  because  engravings  after  Francia  are  very  rare. 

2  [See  Morelli,   Critical  Studies,  vol.  ii.  pp.  30,  44.] 


Adoration  of  the  Kings  (Martin  Schoen) 


260  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

in  the  tribune  of  the  Uffizi,  Florence ;  and  that  of  Mabuse,  in 
the  collection  of  Lord  Carlisle  [Castle  Howard],  are  perhaps 
the  most  perfect  of  their  kind. 

In  the  last-named  picture  the  Virgin,  seated,  in  a  plain 
dark  blue  mantle,  with  the  German  physiognomy,  but  large 
browed,  and  with  a  very  serious,  sweet  expression,  holds  the 
Child.  The  eldest  of  the  Kings,  as  usual,  offers  a  vase  of 
gold,  out  of  which  Christ  has  taken  a  piece,  which  he  holds  in 
his  hand.  The  name  of  the  King,  Jasper,  is  inscribed  on  the 
vase ;  a  younger  King  behind  holds  a  cup.  The  black  Ethi- 
opian King,  Balthasar,  is  conspicuous  on  the  left ;  he  stands, 
crowned  and  arrayed  in  gorgeous  drapery,  and,  as  if  more  fully 
to  mark  the  equality  of  the  races,  at  least  in  spiritual  privi- 
leges, his  train  is  borne  by  a  white  page.  An  exquisite 
landscape  is  seen  through  the  arch  behind,  and  the  shepherds 
are  approaching  in  the  middle  distance.  On  the  whole,  this 
is  one  of  the  most  splendid  pictures  of  the  early  Flemish  school 
I  have  ever  seen ;  for  variety  of  character,  glow  of  color,  and 
finished  execution,  quite  unsurpassed. 

In  a  very  rich  composition  by  Lucas  van  Leyden,  Herod  is 
seen  in  the  background,  standing  in  the  balcony  of  his  palace, 
and  pointing  out  the  scene  to  his  attendants.  [The  illustration 
after  Martin  Schoen  shows  the  characteristics  of  the  German 
style.] 

As  we  might  easily  imagine,  the  ornamental  painters  of  the 
Venetian  and  Flemish  schools  delighted  in  this  subject,  which 
allowed  them  full  scope  for  their  gorgeous  coloring,  and  all 
their  scenic  and  dramatic  power.  Here  Paul  Veronese1  revelled 
unreproved  in  Asiatic  magnificence :  here  his  brocaded  robes 
and  jewelled  diadems  harmonized  with  his  subject ;  and  his 
grand,  old,  bearded  Venetian  senators  figured,  not  unsuitably, 
as  Eastern  Kings.  Here  Rubens  lavished  his  ermine  and 
crimson  draperies,  his  vases,  and  ewers,  and  censers  of  flaming 
gold ;  here  poured  over  his  canvas  the  wealth  "  of  Ormuz  and 
of  Ind."  Of  fifteen  pictures  of  this  subject,  which  he  painted 
at  different  times,  the  finest  undoubtedly  is  that  in  the  Madrid 
Gallery.  Another,  also  very  fine,  is  in  the  collection  of  the 
Marquis  of  Westminster.  In  both  these,  the  Virgin,  contrary 
to  all  former  precedent,   is  not  seated,  but   standing,    as  she 

1  [Four  celebrated  paintings  of  this  subject  by  Veronese  are  those  in  the 
Brera,  Milan ;  the  National  Gallery,  London ;  in  Dresden,  and  in  Vienna.] 


THE    ADORATION   OF   THE    MAGI  261 

holds  up  her  Child  for  worship.  Afterwards  Ave  find  the  same 
position  of  the  Virgin  in  pictures  by  Vandyck,  Poussin,  and 
other  painters  of  the  seventeenth  century.'  It  is  quite  an  inno- 
vation on  the  old  religious  arrangement;  but  in  the  utter  al>- 
sence  of  all  religious  feeling,  the  mere  arrangement  of  the  fig- 
ures, except  in  an  artistic  point  of  view,  is  of  little  consequence. 

As  a  scene  of  oriental  pomp,  heightened  by  mysterious 
shadows  and  Hashing  lights,  I  know  nothing  equal  to  the  Rem- 
brandt in  the  Queen's  Gallery  [Buckingham  Palace]  ;  the  pro- 
cession of  attendants  seen  emerging  from  the  background 
through  the  transparent  gloom  is  quite  awful ;  but  in  this 
miraculous  picture  the  lovely  Virgin-mother  is  metamorphosed 
into  a  coarse  Dutch  vrow,  and  the  divine  Child  looks  like  a 
changeling  imp. 

In  chapels  dedicated  to  the  Nativity  or  the  Epiphany  we 
frequently  find  the  journey  of  the  AVise  Men  painted  round 
the  walls.  They  are  seen  mounted  on  horseback,  or  on  camels, 
with  a  long  train  of  attendants,  here  ascending  a  mountain, 
there  crossing  a  river;  here  winding  through  a  defile,  there 
emerging  from  a  forest ;  while  the  miraculous  star  shines  above, 
pointing  out  the  way.  Sometimes  Ave  have  the  approach  of 
the  Wise  Men  on  one  side  of  the  chapel,  and  their  return  to 
their  own  country  on  the  other.  On  their  homeward  journey 
they  are,  in  some  feAv  instances,  embarking  in  a  ship :  this  occurs 
in  a  fresco  by  Lorenzo  Costa,  and  in  a  bas-relief  in  the  cathe- 
dral of  Amiens.  The  allusion  is  to  a  curious  legend,  mentioned 
by  Arnobius  the  Younger,  in  his  commentary  on  the  Psalms 
(fifth  century).  He  says,  in  reference  to  the  48th  Psalm,  that 
when  Herod  found  that  the  three  Kings  had  escaped  from  him 
"  in  ships  of  Tarsus,"  in  his  wrath  he  burned  all  the  vessels 
in  the  port. 

There  is  a  beautiful  fresco  of  the  journey  of  the  Magi  in 
the  Eiccardi  chapel  at  Florence,  painted  by  Benozzo  Gozzoli 
for  the  old  Cosmo  de'  Medici. 

"The  Baptism  of  the  Magi  by  St.  Thomas"  is  one  of  the 
compartments  of  the  Life  of  the  Virgin,  painted  by  Taddeo 
Gaddi,  in  the  Baroncelli  chapel  at  Florence,  and  this  is  the 
only  instance  I  can  refer  to. 

Before  I  quit  this  subject  —  one  of  the  most  interesting  in 
the  whole  range  of  Art  —  I  must  mention  a  picture  by  Giorgione 


262  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

in  the  Belvedere  Gallery,  well  known  as  one  of  the  few  un- 
doubted productions  of  that  rare  and  fascinating  painter,  and 
often  referred  to  because  of  its  beauty.  Its  signification  has 
hitherto  escaped  all  writers  on  Art,  as  far  as  I  am  acquainted 
with  them,  and  has  been  dismissed  as  one  of  his  enigmatical 
allegories.  It  is  called  in  German,  Die  Feldmdsser*  (the 
Land  Surveyors),  and  sometimes  styled  in  English  the  Geom- 
etricians, or  the  Philosophers,  or  the  Astrologers.  It  repre- 
sents a  wild,  rocky  landscape,  in  which  are  three  men.  The 
first,  very  aged,  in  an  oriental  costume,  with  a  long  gray  beard, 
stands  holding  in  his  hand  an  astronomical  table;  the  next, 
a  man  in  the  prime  of  life,  seems  listening  to  him  ;  the  third,  a 
youth,  seated  and  looking  upwards,  holds  a  compass.  I  have 
myself  no  doubt  that  this  beautiful  picture  represents  the 
"  three  Wise  Men  of  the  East  "  watching  on  the  Chaldean 
hills  the  appearance  of  the  miraculous  star,  and  that  the  light 
breaking  in  the  far  horizon,  called  in  the  German  description 
the  rising  sun,  is  intended  to  express  the  rising  of  the  star  of 
Jacob.2  In  the  sumptuous  landscape,  and  color,  and  the  pic- 
turesque rather  than  religious  treatment,  this  picture  is  quite 
Venetian.  The  interpretation  here  suggested  I  leave  to  the 
consideration  of  the  observer ;  and  without  allowing  myself  to 
be  tempted  on  to  further  illustration,  will  only  add,  in  con- 
clusion, that  I  do  not  remember  any  Spanish  picture  of  this 
subject  remarkable  either  for  beauty  or  originality. 

The  Purification  of  the  Virgin,   the  Presentation, 
and  the  Circumcision  of  Christ 

Hal.  La  Purificazione  della  B.  Vergine.      Ger.  Die  Darbringung 
im  Tempel.     Die  Beschneidung  Christi. 

After  the  birth  of  her  Son,  Mary  was  careful  to  fulfil  all 
the  ceremonies  of  the  Mosaic  law.  As  a  first-born  son,  he 
was  to  be  redeemed  by  the  offering  of  five  shekels,  or  a  pair 
of  young  pigeons  (in  memory  of  the  first-born  of  Egypt). 
But  previously,  being  born  of  the  children  of  Abraham,  the 
infant  Christ  was  submitted  to  the  sanguinary  rite  which  sealed 
the  covenant  of  Abraham,  and  received  the  name  of  Jesus  — 

1  [Catalogued  in  18!)2  as  Die  drei  morgenlandischen  Weisen.] 
-  There  is  also  a  print  by  Giulio  Bonasone,  which  appears  to  represent  the 
Wise  Men  watching  for  the  star.    (Bartsch,  Lc  1\  intre  Graveur,  vol.  xv.  p.  156.) 


THE   PRESENTATION   IN   THE   TEMPLE  263 

"  that  name  before  which  every  knee  was  to  bow,"  which  was 
to  be  set  above  the  powers  of  magic,  the  mighty  rites  of  sorcer- 
ers, the  secrets  of  Memphis,  the  thugs  of  Thessaly,  the  silent 
and  mysterious  murmurs  of  the  wise  <  Ihaldees,  and  the  spells  of 
Zoroaster;  that  name  which  we  should  engrave  on  our  hearts 
and  pronounce  with  our  most  harmonious  accents,  and  rest  our 
faith  on,  and  place  our  hopes  in,  and  love  with  the  overflow- 
ing of  charity,  joy,  and  adoration.  (  Vide  Bishop  Taylor's  Life 
of  Christ.) 

The  circumcision  and  the  naming  of  Christ  have  many  times 
been  painted  to  express  the  first  of  the  sorrows  of  the  Virign, 
being  the  first  of  the  pangs  which  her  Son  was  to  suffer  on  earth. 
But  the  Presentation  in  the  Temple  has  been  selected  with 
better  taste  for  the  same  purpose  ;  and  the  prophecy  of  Simeon, 
••  Yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thy  own  soul  also,"  be- 
comes the  first  of  the  Seven  Sorrows.  It  is  an  undecided 
point  whether  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi  took  place  thirteen 
days,  or  one  year  and  thirteen  days  after  the  birth  of  Christ. 
In  a  series  of  subjects  artistically  arranged,  the  Epiphany 
always  precedes,  in  order  of  time,  that  scene  in  the  temple 
which  is  sometimes  styled  the  Purification,  sometimes  the  Pres- 
entation, and  sometimes  the  Nunc  Dimittis.  They  are  three 
distinct  incidents  ;  but,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  neither  the  paint- 
ers themselves,  nor  those  who  have  named  pictures,  have;  been 
careful  to  discriminate  between  them.  On  a  careful  examina- 
tion of  various  compositions,  some  of  special  celebrity,  which 
are  styled,  in  a  general  way,  the  Presentation  in  the  Temple, 
it  will  appear,  I  think,  that  the  idea  uppermost  in  the  paint- 
er's mind  has  been  to  represent  the  prophecy  of  Simeon. 

No  doubt,  in  later  times,  the  whole  scene,  as  a  subject  of 
Art,  was  considered  in  reference  chiefly  to  the  Virgin,  and  the 
intention  was  to  express  the  first  of  her  Seven  Sorrows.  But 
in  ancient  Art,  and  especially  in  (J reek  Art,  the  character  of 
Simeon  assumed  a  singular  significance  and  importance,  which 
so  long  as  modern  Arl  was  influenced  by  the  traditional  Byzan- 
tine types,  modified,  in  some  degree,  the  arrangement  and  sen- 
timent of  this  favorite  subject. 

it  IS  related  that  when  Ptolemy  Philadelphia,  about  260 
years  before  Christ,  resolved  to  have  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
translated  into  Greek,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  them  in  his 
far-famed    library,  he  dispatched   messengers  to   Eleazar,  the 


2G4  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

High  Priest  of  the  Jews,  requiring  him  to  send  scribes  and 
interpreters  learned  in  the  Jewish  law  to  his  court  in  Alexan- 
dria. Thereupon  Eleazar  selected  six  of  the  most  learned 
rabbis  from  each  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  seventy-two 
persons  in  all,  and  sent  them  to  Egypt,  in  obedience  to  the 
commands  of  King  Ptolemy,  and  among  these  was  Simeon,  a 
priest,  and  a  man  full  of  learning.  And  it  fell  to  the  lot  of 
Simeon  to  translate  the  book  of  the  prophet  Isaiah.  And 
when  he  came  to  that  verse  where  it  is  written,  "  Behold,  a 
Virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  son,"  he  began  to  misdoubt, 
in  his  own  mind,  how  this  could  be  possible ;  and,  after  long 
meditation,  fearing  to  give  scandal  and  offence  to  the  Greeks, 
he  rendered  the  Hebrew  word  Virgin  by  a  Greek  word  which 
signifies  merely  a  young  woman;  but  when  he  had  written  it 
down,  behold  an  angel  effaced  it,  and  substituted  the  right 
word.  Thereupon  he  wrote  it  again  and  again  ;  and  the  same 
thing  happened  three  times ;  and  he  remained  astonished  and 
confounded.  And  while  he  wondered  what  this  should  mean,  a 
ray  of  divine  light  penetrated  his  soul ;  it  was  revealed  to  him 
that  the  miracle,  which,  in  his  human  wisdom,  he  had  presumed 
to  doubt,  was  not  only  possible,  but  that  he,  Simeon,  "  should 
not  see  death  till  he  had  seen  the  Lord's  Christ."  Therefore 
he  tarried  on  earth,  by  the  divine  will,  for  nearly  three  cen- 
turies, till  that  which  he  had  disbelieved  had  come  to  pass. 
He  was  led  by  the  Spirit  to  the  temple  on  the  very  day  when 
Mary  came  there  to  present  her  Son,  and  to  make  her  offering, 
and  immediately,  taking  the  Child  in  his  arms,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  according 
to  thy  word."  And  of  the  Virgin-mother,  also,  he  prophesied 
sad  and  glorious  things. 

Anna  the  Prophetess,  who  was  standing  by,  also  testified  to 
the  presence  of  the  theocratic  King ;  but  she  did  not  take  him 
in  her  arms,  as  did  Simeon.  (Luke  ii.  38.)  Hence,  she  was 
early  regarded  as  a  type  of  the  synagogue,  which  prophesied 
great  things  of  the  Messiah,  but,  nevertheless,  did  not  embrace 
him  when  he  appeared,  as  did  the  Gentiles. 

That  these  curious  legends  relative  to  Simeon  and  Anna, 
and  their  symbolical  interpretation,  were  well  known  to  the 
old  painters,  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  and  both  were  perhaps  in 
the  mind  of  Bishop  Taylor  when  he  wrote  his  eloquent  chap- 
ter on  the  Presentation.      "  There  be  some,"  he  says,  "  who 


THE   PRESENTATION   IN   THE   TEMPLE 


265 


Presentation  in  the  Temple  (Byzantine) 

wear  the  name  of  Christ  on  their  heads,  to  make  a  show  to 
the  world  ;  and  there  be  some  who  have  it  always  in  their 
months  ;  and  there  be  some  who  carry  Christ  on  their  shoul- 
ders, as  if  he  were  a  burthen  too  heavy  to  bear;  and  there  be 
some  —  woe  is  me!  —  who  trample  him  under  their  feel  :  but 
he  is  the  true  Christian,  who,  like  Simeon,  embraces  Christ, 
and  takes  him  to  his  heart." 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  distinctly  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  Christ   by  Simeon  —  that  is,  Christ  received  by  the 


266 


HISTORICAL  -SUBJECTS 


Gentiles  —  which  is  intended  to  be  placed  before  us  in  the 
very  early  pictures  of  the  Presentation,  or  the  Nunc  Dimittis, 
as  it  is  always  styled  'in  Greek  Art.  The  appearance  of  an 
attendant,  bearing  the  two  turtle  doves,  shows  it  to  be  also 
the  so-called  Purification  of  the  Virgin.  In  this  antique  formal 
Greek  version  we  have  the  Presentation  exactly  according  to 
the  pattern  described  by  Didron.     The   great  gold   censer  is 


Presentation  in  the  Temple  (Bartolommeo) 

here  ;  the  cupola,  at  top  ;  Joseph  carrying  the  two  young  pigeons, 
and  Anna  behind  Simeon. 

In  a  celebrated  composition  by  Pra  Bartolommeo  [Belvedere, 
Vienna],  of  which  I  give  a  sketch,  there  is  the  same  disposi- 
tion of  the  personages,  but  an  additional  female  figure.  This 
is  not  Anna,  the  mother  of  the  Virgin  (as  I  have  heard  it 
said),  but  probably  Mary  Salome,  who  bad  always  attended  on 
the  Virgin  ever  since  the  Nativity  at  Bethlehem. 

The  subject  is  treated  with  exquisite  simplicity  by  Francia ; 


THE    PRESENTATION    IN    THE    TEMPLE 


26; 


Presentation  in  the  Temple  (Van  der  Weyden) 


we  have  just  the  same  personages  as  in  the  rude  Greek  model, 
but  disposed  with  consummate  grace.  Still,  to  represent  the 
Child  as  completely  undraped  has  been  considered  as  a  sole- 
cism. He  ought  to  stretch  out  his  hands  to  his  mother,  and 
to  look  as  if  he  understood  the  portentous  words  which  fore- 
told his  destiny.  Sometimes  the  imagination  is  assisted  by  the 
choice  of  the  accessories  ;  thus,  Fra  Bartolommeo  has  given  us, 


268  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

in  the  background  of  his  group,  Moses  holding  the  broken 
table  of  the  old  law ;  and  Francia  represents  in  the  same  man- 
ner the  sacrifice  of  Abraham  ;  for  thus  did  Mary  bring  her 
Son  as  an  offering.  In  many  pictures  Simeon  raises  his  eyes 
to  heaven  in  gratitude  ;  but  those  painters  who  wish  to  express 
the  presence  of  the  Divinity  in  the  person  of  Christ  made 
Simeon  looking  at  the  Child,  and  addressing  him  as  "Lord." 

The  accompanying  sketch  is  from  a  beautiful  little  picture 
[attributed  to  Van  der  YVeyden]  ,  in  which  we  have  the  scene 
in  the  true  Flemish  style.  A  noble  Gothic  church  represents 
the  temple  ;  and,  besides  the  sacred  personages  and  Simeon, 
there  are  numerous  assistants,  among  them  a  woman  carrying 
a  basket  of  doves  (Salome,  I  suppose).  She  wears  a  singular 
headdress,  composed  of  a  narrow  bandage  of  gold  stuff  twisted 
round  and  round  her  head  till  it  takes  the  form  of  a  turban  ; 
and  the  whole  figure  is  particularly  graceful.  [Munich  Gal- 
lery.] 

In  the  picture  by  Guido  a  young  girl  offers  two  turtle  doves, 
and  a  boy  two  pigeons. 


The  Flight  into  Egypt 

ltd.  La  Fuga  in  Egitto.     Fr.  La  Fuite  de  la  Sainte  Famille  en 
Egypte.     Ger.  Die  Flucht  nach  Aegypten. 

The  wrath  of  Herod  against  the  Magi  of  the  East,  who  had 
escaped  from  his  power,  enhanced  by  his  fears  of  the  divine 
and  kingly  Infant,  occasioned  the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents, 
which  led  to  the  flight  of  the  Holy  Family  into  Egypt.  Of 
the  martyred  children,  in  their  character  of  martyrs,  I  have 
already  spoken,  and  of  their  proper  place  in  a  scheme  of  ec- 
clesiastical decoration.  There  is  surely  something  very  pathetic 
in  that  feeling  which  exalted  these  infant  victims  into  objects 
of  religious  veneration,  making  them  the  cherished  companions 
in  heavenly  glory  of  the  Saviour  for  whose  sake  they  were 
sacrificed  on  earth.  He  had  said  "  Suffer  little  children  to 
come  unto  me ;  "  and  to  these  were  granted  the  prerogatives 
of  pain,  as  well  as  the  privileges  of  innocence.  If,  in  the 
day  of  retribution,  they  sit  at  the  feet  of  the  Redeemer,  surely 
they  will  appeal  against  us,  then  and  there  —  against  us  who, 
in   these  days,  through   our  reckless  neglect,  slay,  body  and 


THE   FLIGHT  INTO   EGYPT  269 

soul,  legions  of  innocents  —  poor  little  nnblest  creatures,  "  mar- 
tyrs by  the  pang  without  the  palm" — yet  dare  to  call  our- 
selves Christians. 

The  Massacre  of  the  Innocents,  as  an  event,  belongs  properly 
to  the  life  of  Christ ;  it  is  not  included  in  a  series  of  the  Life 
of  the  Virgin,  perhaps  from  a  feeling  that  the  contrast  between 
the  most  blessed  of  women  and  mothers  and  those  who  wept 
distracted  for  their  children  was  too  painful,  and  did  not  har- 
monize with  the  general  subject.  In  pictures  of  the  Flight 
into  Egypt  I  have  seen  it  introduced  allusively  into  the  back- 
ground ;  and  in  the  architectural  decoration  of  churches  dedi- 
cated to  the  Virgin-mother,  as  Notre  Dame  de  Chartres,  it  finds 
a  place,  but  not  often  a  conspicuous  place ;  1  it  is  rather  indi- 
cated than  represented.  I  should  pass  over  the  subject  alto- 
gether, best  pleased  to  be  spared  the  theme,  but  that  there  are 
some  circumstances  connected  with  it  which  require  elucidation, 
because  we  find  them  introduced  incidentally  into  pictures  of 
the  Flight  and  the  Riposo. 

Thus,  it  is  related  that  among  the  children  whom  Herod 
was  bent  on  destroying  was  St.  John  the  Baptist ;  but  his 
mother  Elizabeth  fled  with  him  to  a  desert  place,  and  being 
pursued  by  the  murderers,  "  the  rock  opened  by  a  miracle,  and 
closed  upon  Elizabeth  and  her  child ;  "  which  means,  as  we 
may  presume,  that  they  took  refuge  in  a  cavern,  and  were  con- 
cealed within  it  until  the  danger  was  over.  Zacharias,  refusing 
to  betray  his  son,  was  slain  "  between  the  temple  and  the  altar." 
(Matt,  xxiii.  35.)  Both  these  legends  are  to  be  met  with  in 
the  Greek  pictures,  and  in  the  miniatures  of  the  thirteenth 
ami  fourteenth  centuries. 

From  the  butchery  which  made  so  many  mothers  childless 
the  divine  Infant  and  his  mother  were  miraculously  saved ;  for 
an  angel  spoke  to  Joseph  in  a  dream,  saying,  "Arise,  and  take 
the  young  child  and  his  mother,  and  flee  into  Egypt."  This 
is  the  second  of  the  four  angelic  visions  which  are  recorded  of 
Joseph.  It  is  not  a  frequent  subject  in  early  Art,  but  is  often 
met  with  in  pictures  of  the  later  schools.  Joseph  is  asleep  in 
his  chair,  the  angel  stands  before  him,  and,  with  a  significant 
gesture,  points  forward,  —  "  Arise  and  flee  !  " 

There  is  an  exquisite  little  composition  by  Titian,  called  a 

1  It  is  conspicuous  and  elegantly  treated  over  the  door  of  the  Lorenz  Kirche 
at  Nuremberg. 


270  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

fiiposo,  which  may  possibly  represent  the  preparation  for  the 
Flight.  Here  Mary  is  seated  under  a  tree  nursing  her  Infant, 
while  in  the  background  is  a  sort  of  rude  stable,  in  which 
Joseph  is  seen  saddling  the  ass,  while  the  ox  is  on  the  outside. 

In  a  composition  by  Tiarini  we  see  Joseph  holding  the  In- 
fant, while  Mary,  leaning  one  hand  on  his  shoulder,  is  about 
to  mount  the  ass. 

In  a  composition  by  Poussin,  Mary,  who  has  just  seated  her- 
self on  the  ass,  takes  the  Child  from  the  arms  of  Joseph. 
Two  angels  lead  the  ass,  a  third  kneels  in  homage,  and  two 
others  are  seen  above  with  a  curtain  to  pitch  a  tent. 

I  must  here  notice  a  tradition  that  both  the  ox  and  the  ass 
who  stood  over  the  manger  at  Bethlehem  accompanied  the 
Holy  Family  into  Egypt.  In  Albert  Durer's  print  the  ox  and 
the  ass  walk  side  by  side.  It  is  also  related  that  the  Virgin 
was  accompanied  by  Salome,  and  Joseph  by  three  of  his  sons. 
This  version  of  the  story  is  generally  rejected  by  the  painters ; 
but  in  the  series  by  Giotto  in  the  Arena  chapel,  at  Padua,  Salome 
and  the  three  youths  attend  on  Mary  and  Joseph ;  and  I  re- 
member another  instance,  a  little  picture  by  Lorenzo  Monaco, 
in  which  Salome,  who  had  vowed  to  attend  on  Christ  and  his 
mother  as  long  as  she  lived,  is  seen  following  the  ass,  veiled, 
and  supporting  her  steps  with  a  staff. 

But  this  is  a  rare  exception.  The  general  treatment  con- 
fines the  group  to  Joseph,  the  mother,  and  the  Child.  To 
Joseph  was  granted,  in  those  hours  of  distress  and  danger,  the 
high  privilege  of  providing  for  the  safety  of  the  Holy  Infant, 
a  circumstance  much  enlarged  upon  in  the  old  legends ;  and, 
to  express  this  more  vividly,  he  is  sometimes  represented  in 
early  Greek  Art  as  carrying  the  Child  in  his  arms,  or  on  his 
shoulder,  while  Mary  follows  on  the  ass.  He  is  so  figured  on 
the  sculptured  doors  of  the  cathedral  of  Beneventum,  and  in 
the  cathedral  of  Monreale,  both  executed  by  Greek  artists.1 
But  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  Holy  Family  was  left  de- 
fenceless on  the  long  journey.  The  angels  who  had  charge 
concerning  them  were  sent  to  guide  them  by  day,  to  watch 
over  them  by  night,  to  pitch  their  tent  before  them,  and  to 
refresh  them  with  celestial  fruit  and  flowers.  By  the  introduc- 
tion of  these  heavenly  ministers  the  group  is  beautifully  varied, 
l  Eleventh  century.     Also  at  Cittii  di  Castello  ;  same  date. 


THE  FLIGHT   INTO   EGYPT  271 

Joseph,  says  the  Gospel  story,  "  arose  by  night ;  "  hence 
there  is  both  meaning  and  propriety  in  those  pictures  which 
represent  the  Flight  as  a  night-scene,  illuminated  by  the  moon 
and  stars,  though  1  believe  this  has  been  done  more  to  exhibit 
the  painter's  mastery  over  effects  of  dubious  light  than  as  a 
matter  of  biblical  accuracy.  Sometimes  an  angel  goes  before, 
carrying  a  torch  or  lantern,  to  light  them  on  the  way ;  some- 
times it  is  Joseph  who  carries  the  lantern. 

In  a  picture  by  Niccolo  Poussin,  Mary  walks  before,  carrying 
the  Infant ;  Joseph  follows,  leading  the  ass  ;  and  an  angel 
guides  them. 

The  journey  did  not,  however,  comprise  one  night  only. 
There  is,  indeed,  an  antique  tradition,  that  space  and  time 
were,  on  this  occasion,  miraculously  shortened  to  secure  a  life 
of  so  much  importance ;  still,  we  are  allowed  to  believe  that 
the  journey  extended  over  many  days  and  nights  ;  consequently 
it  lay  within  the  choice  of  the  artist  to  exhibit  the  scene  of 
the  Flight  either  by  night  or  by  day. 

In  many  representations  of  the  Flight  into  Egypt  we  find 
in  the  background  men  sowing  or  cutting  corn.  This  is  in 
allusion  to  the  following  legend  :  — 

When  it  was  discovered  that  the  Holy  Family  had  fled  from 
Bethlehem,  Herod  sent  his  officers  in  pursuit  of  them.  And 
it  happened  that  when  the  Holy  Family  had  travelled  some 
distance,  they  came  to  a  field  where  a  man  was  sowing  wheat. 
And  the  Virgin  said  to  the  husbandman,  "  If  any  shall  ask 
you  whether  we  have  passed  this  way,  ye  shall  answer,  '  Such 
persons  passed  this  way  when  I  was  sowing  this  corn.' '  For 
the  Holy  Virgin  was  too  wise  and  too  good  to  save  her  Son 
by  instructing  the  man  to  tell  a  falsehood.  But,  behold,  a 
miracle  !  For,  by  the  power  of  the  Infant  Saviour,  in  the 
space  of  a  single  night  the  seed  sprang  up  into  stalk,  blade, 
and  ear,  fit  for  the  sickle.  And  next  morning  the  officers  of 
Herod  came  up,  and  inquired  of  the  husbandman,  saying, 
"  Have  you  seen  an  old  man  with  a  woman  and  a  Child  trav- 
elling this  way  '.'  "  And  the  man,  who  was  reaping  Ins  wheat, 
in  great  wonder  and  admiration,  replied,  "  Yes."  And  they 
asked  him  again,  "  How  long  is  it  since?  "  And  he  answered, 
"  When  I  was  sowing  this  wheat."  Then  the  officers  of  Herod 
turned  back  ami  left  oil'  pursuing  the  Holy  Family. 

A  very  remarkable  example  of  the  introduction  of  this  legend 


272  HISTOKICAL    SUBJECTS 

occurs  in  a  celebrated  picture  by  Hans  Memling  (Munich  Gal- 
lery), known  as  "  Die  sieben  Freuden  Maria."  In  the  back- 
ground, on  the  left,  is  the  Flight  into  Egypt :  the  men  cutting 
and  reaping  corn,  and  the  officers  of  Herod  in  pursuit  of  the 
Holy  Family.  By  those  unacquainted  with  the  old  legend, 
the  introduction  of  the  cornfield  and  reapers  is  supposed  to  be 
merely  a  decorative  landscape,  without  any  peculiar  significance. 

In  a  very  beautiful  fresco  by  Pinturicchio  (Rome,  St.  Ono- 
frio  1),  the  Holy  Family  are  taking  their  departure  from  Beth- 
lehem. The  city,  with  the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents,  is  seen 
in  the  background.  In  the  middle  distance,  the  husbandman 
cutting  corn  ;  and  nearer,  the  palm-tree  bending  down. 

It  is  supposed  by  commentators  that  Joseph  travelled  from 
Bethlehem  across  the  hilly  country  of  Judea,  taking  the  road 
to  Joppa,  and  then  pursuing  the  way  along  the  coast.  Nothing 
is  said  in  the  gospel  of  the  events  of  this  long  and  perilous 
journey  of  at  least  four  hundred  miles,  which,  in  the  natural 
order  of  things,  must  have  occupied  five  or  six  weeks  ;  and  the 
legendary  traditions  are  very  few.  Such  as  they  are,  however, 
the  painters  have  not  failed  to  take  advantage  of  them. 

We  are  told  that  on  descending  from  the  mountains  they 
came  down  upon  a  beautiful  plain  enamelled  with  flowers, 
watered  by  murmuring  streams,  and  shaded  by  fruit-trees.  In 
such  a  lovely  landscape  have  the  painters  delighted  to  place 
some  of  the  scenes  of  the  Flight  into  Egypt.  On  another 
occasion  they  entered  a  thick  forest,  a  wilderness  of  trees,  in 
which  they  must  have  lost  their  way  had  they  not  been  guided 
by  an  angel.  Here  we  encounter  a  legend  which  has  hitherto 
escaped,  because,  indeed,  it  defied  the  art  of  the  painter.  As 
the  Holy  Family  entered  this  forest,  all  the  trees  bowed  them- 
selves down  in  reverence  to  the  Infant  God  ;  only  the  aspen, 
in  her  exceeding  pride  and  arrogance,  refused  to  acknowledge 
him,  and  stood  upright.  Then  the  Infant  Christ  pronounced 
a  curse  against  her,  as  he  afterwards  cursed  the  barren  fig-tree  ; 
and  at  the  sound  of    his  words,   the  aspen  began  to  tremble 

1  [Authorities  are  divided  in  their  opinion  of  the  authorship  of  the  frescoes  of 
S.  Onofrio,  some  attributing  them  all  to  Peruzzi.  For  full  discussion  of  the  sub- 
ject see  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle's  History  of  Painting  in  Italy,  vol.  iii.  p.  385, 
and  Frizzoni,  Arte  Italiana  del  Jiinascimentu,  p.  193.] 


THE   FLIGHT   INTO   EGYPT 


273 


through  all  her  leaves,  and  has  not  ceased  to  tremhle  even  to 
this  day. 

"We  know  from  Josephus  the  historian,  that  about  this  time 
Palestine  was  infested  by  bands  of  robbers.  There  is  an  an- 
cient tradition,  that  when  the  Holy  Family,  travelling  through 
hidden  paths  and  solitary  defiles,  had  passed  Jerusalem,  and 
were  descending  into  the  plains  of  Syria,  they  encountered  cer- 
tain thieves  who  foil  upon  them  ;  and  one  of  them  would  have 
maltreated  and  plundered  them  ;  but  his  comrade  interfered, 
and  said,  "  Sutler  them,  I  beseech  thee,  to  go  in  peace,  and  I 


Flight  into  Egypt  (Rembrandt) 


will  give  thee  forty  groats,,  and  likewise  my  girdle ;  "  which 
offer  being  accepted,  the  merciful  robber  led  the  Holy  Travel- 
lers to  his  stronghold  on  the  rock,  and  gave  them  lodging  for 
the  night  (Gospel  of  infancy,  ch.  viii.).  And  Mary  said  to 
him,  "The  Lord  God  will  receive  thee  to  his  right  hand,  and 
grant  the  pardon  of  thy  sins  !  "  And  it  was  so  :  for  in  after 
times  these  two  thieves  were  crucified  with  Christ,  one  on  the 
right  hand,  and  one  on  the  left.  ;  and  the  merciful  thief  went 
with  the  Saviour  into  Paradise. 

The  scene  of  this  encounter  with  the  robbers,  near   Etamla, 
is  still  pointed  out  to  travellers,  and  still  in  evil  repute  as  the 


274  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

haunt  of  banditti.  The  crusaders  visited  the  spot  as  a  place 
of  pilgrimage ;  and  the  Abbe'  Orsini  considers  the  first  part  of 
the  story  as  authenticated ;  but  the  legend  concerning  the  good 
thief  he  admits  to  be  doubtful.      (Vie  de  la  Ste.  Vierge.) 

As  an  artistic  subject,  this  scene  has  been  seldom  treated. 
I  have  seen  two  pictures  which  represent  it.  One  is  a  fresco 
by  Giovanni  di  San  Giovanni,  cut  from  the  wall  of  some  sup- 
pressed convent.     The  other  is  a  composition  by  Zuccaro. 

One  of  the  most  popular  legends  concerning  the  Flight  into 
Egypt  is  that  of  the  palm  or  date  tree,  which  at  the  command 
of  Jesus  bowed  down  its  branches  to  shade  and  refresh  his 
mother ;  hence,  in  the  scene  of  the  Flight,  a  palm-tree  became 
a  usual  accessory.  In  a  picture  by  Antonello  Mellone  [Cre- 
mona], the  Child  stretches  out  his  little  hand  and  lays  hold  of 
the  branch  :  sometimes  the  branch  is  bent  down  by  angel  hands, 
Sozomenes  relates  that  when  the  Holy  Family  reached  the 
term  of  their  journey,  and  approached  the  city  of  Heliopolis 
in  Egypt,  a  tree  which  grew  before  the  gates  of  the  city,  and 
was  regarded  with  great  veneration  as  the  seat  of  a  god,  bowed 
down  its  branches  at  the  approach  of  the  Infant  Christ.  Like- 
wise it  is  related  (not  in  legends  merely,  but  by  grave  religious 
authorities)  that  all  the  idols  of  the  Egyptians  fell  with  their 
faces  to  the  earth.  I  have  seen  pictures  of  the  Flight  into 
Egypt  in  which  broken  idols  lie  by  the  wayside. 

In  the  course  of  the  journey  the  Holy  Travellers  had  to 
cross  rivers  and  lakes,  hence  the  later  painters,  to  vary  the. 
subject,  represented  them  as  embarking  in  a  boat,  sometimes 
steered  by  an  angel.  The  first,  as  I  have  reason  to  believe, 
who  ventured  on  this  innovation,  was  Annibal  Caracci.  In 
a  picture  by  Giordano,  an  angel,  with  one  knee  bent,  assists 
Mary  to  enter  the  boat.  In  a  pretty  little  picture  by  Teniers, 
the  Holy  Family  and  the  ass  are  seen  in  a  boat  crossing  a 
ferry  by  moonlight ;   sometimes  they  are  crossing  a  bridge. 

I  must  notice  here  a  little  picture  by  Adrian  van  der  Werff, 
in  which  the  Virgin,  carrying  her  Child,  holds  by  the  hand 
the  old  decrepit  Joseph,  who  is  helping  her,  or  rather  is  helped 
by  her,  to  pass  a  torrent  on  some  stepping-stones.  This  is 
quite  contrary  to  the  feeling  of  the  old  authorities,  which  rep- 
resent Joseph  as  the  vigilant  and  capable  guardian  of  the 
Mother  and  her  Child  ;    but   it   appears  to  have  here  a  rather 


THE  REPOSE  OF  THE  HOLY  FAMILY        275 

particular  and  touching  significance  :  it  was  painted  by  Van  der 
Werff  for  his  daughter  in  his  old  age,  and  intended  to  express 
her  filial  duty  and  his  paternal  care. 

The  most  beautiful  Flight  into  Egypt  I  have  ever  seen  is 
a  composition  by  Gaudenzio  Ferarri.  The  Virgin  is  seated 
and  sustained  on  the  ass  with  a  quite  peculiar  elegance.  The 
Infant,  standing  on  her  knee,  seems  to  point  out  the  way  ;  an 
angel  leads  the  ass,  and  Joseph  follows  with  the  staff  and 
wallet.  In  the  background  the  palm-tree  inclines  its  branches. 
(At  Varallo,  in  the  church  of  the  Minorites.) 

Claude  has  introduced  the  Flight  of  the  Holy  Family  as  a 
landscape  group  into  nine  different  pictures. 

The  Repose  of  the  Holy  Family 

Ital.  -II  Eiposo.      Fr.  Le  Repos  de  la  Sainte  Famille.     Ger.  Die 

Ruhe  in  Egypten. 

The  subject  generally  styled  a  "  Riposo  "  is  one  of  the  most 
graceful  and  most  attractive  in  the  whole  range  of  Christian 
Art.  It  is  not,  however,  an  ancient  subject,  for  I  cannot 
recall  an  instance  earlier  than  the  sixteenth  century ;  it  had  in 
its  accessories  that  romantic  and  pastoral  character  which  recom- 
mended it  to  the  Venetians  and  to  the  landscape  painters  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  among  these  we  must  look  for  the 
most  successful  and  beautiful  examples. 

I  must  begin  by  observing  that  it  is  a  subject  not  only  easily 
mistaken  by  those  who  have  studied  pictures,  but  perpetually 
misconceived  and  misrepresented  by  the  painters  themselves. 
Some  pictures,  which  erroneously  bear  this  title,  were  never 
intended  to  do  so.  Others  intended  to  represent  the  scene 
are  disfigured  and  perplexed  by  mistakes  arising  either  from 
the  ignorance  or  the  carelessness  of  the  artist. 

YYe  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  Riposo,  properly  so  called, 
is  not  merely  the  Holy  Family  seated  in  a  landscape ;  it  is  an 
episode  of  the  Might  into  Egypt,  and  is  either  the  rest  on  the 
journey,  or  at  the  close  of  the  journey  ;  quite  different  scenes, 
though  all  go  by  the  same  name.  It  is  not  an  ideal  religious 
group,  but  a  reality,  a  possible  and  actual  scene ;  and  it  is  clear 
that  the  painter,  if  he  thought  at  all,  and  did  not  merely  set 
himself  to  fabricate  a  pretty  composition,  was  restricted  within 
the  limits  of  the  actual  and  possible,  at  least,  according  to  the 


276  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

histories  and  traditions  of  the  time.  Some  of  the  accessories 
introduced  would  stamp  the  intention  at  once ;  as  the  date- 
tree,  and  Joseph  gathering  dates ;  the  ass  feeding  in  the  dis- 
tance ;  the  wallet  and  pilgrim's  staff  laid  beside  Joseph ;  the 
fallen  idols ;  the  Virgin  scooping  water  from  a  fountain  ;  for 
all  these  are  incidents  which  properly  belong  to  the  Riposo. 

It  is  nowhere  recorded,  either  in  Scripture  or  in  the  legend- 
ary stories,  that  Mary  and  Joseph  in  their  flight  were  accom- 
panied by  Elizabeth  and  the  little  St.  John ;  therefore,  where 
either  of  these  is  introduced,  the  subject  is  not  properly  a 
Riposo,  whatever  the  intention  of  the  painter  may  have  been : 
the  personages  ought  to  be  restricted  to  the  Virgin,  her  Infant, 
and  St.  Joseph,  with  attendant  angels.  An  old  woman  is 
sometimes  introduced,  the  same  who  is  traditionally  supposed 
to  have  accompanied  them  in  their  flight.  If  this  old  woman 
be  manifestly  St.  Anna  or  St.  Elizabeth,  then  it  is  not  a  Rijioso, 
but  merely  a  Holy  Family. 

It  is  related  that  the  Holy  Family  finally  rested,  after  their 
long  journey,  in  the  village  of  Matarea,  beyond  the  city  of 
Hermopolis  (or  Heliopolis),  and  took  up  their  residence  in  a 
grove  of  sycamores,  a  circumstance  which  gave  the  sycamore- 
tree  a  sort  of  religious  interest  in  early  Christian  times.  The 
crusaders  imported  it  into  Europe  ;  and  poor  Mary  Stuart  may 
have  had  this  idea,  or  this  feeling,  when  she  brought  from 
France,  and  planted  in  her  garden,  the  first  sycamores  which 
grew  in  Scotland. 

Near  to  this  village  of  Matarea  a  fountain  miraculously 
sprang  up  for  the  refreshment  of  the  Holy  Family.  It  still 
exists,  as  we  are  informed  by  travellers,  about  four  miles  north- 
east of  Cairo,  and  is  still  styled  by  the  Arabs  "  The  Fountain 
of  Mary."  This  fountain  is  frequently  represented,  as  in  the 
well-known  Riposo  by  Correggio,  where  the  Virgin  is  dipping 
a  bowl  into  the  gushing  stream,  hence  called  the  "Madonna 
della  Scodella "  (Parma)  ;  in  another  by  Baroccio,  and  an- 
other by  Domenichino,  in  the  Louvre. 

In  this  fountain,  says  another  legend,  Mary  washed  the  linen 
of  the  Child.  There  are  several  pictures  which  represent  the 
Virgin  washing  linen  in  a  fountain  ;  for  example,  one  by  Lucio 
Massari,1  where,  in  a  charming  landscape,  the  little  Christ  takes 

1  [Diligent  search  and  inquiry  have  been  made  at  the  Uftizi  Gallery  in  regard 
to  this  picture,  but  in  vain.] 


THE   REPOSE    OF   THE    HOLY   FAMILY 


277 


Repose  in  Egypt  (Lucas  van  Leyden) 

the  linen  out  of  the  basket,  and  Joseph  hangs  it  on  a  line  to 
dry.      (UfHzi,  Florence.) 

The  ministry  of  the  angels  is  here   not  only  allowable,  but 

beautifully  appropriate  ;   and  never  has  it  1 o  more  felicitously 

and  more  gracefully  expressed  than  in  a  little  composition  by 
Lucas  Cranach,  where  the  Virgin  and  her  Child  repose  under 
a  tree,  while  the  angels  dunce  in  a  circle  round  them.  The 
cause  of  the  flight,  the  .Massacre  of  the  Innocents,  is  figura- 
tively expressed  by  two  winged  hoys,  who,  seated  on  a  bough 
of  the  tree,  are  seen  robbing  a  nest,  and  wringing  the  necks 
of  the  nestlings,  while  the  parent  birds  scream  and  flutter  over 
their  heads:  in  point  of  taste,  this  Bignificanl  allegory  had 
been   better   omitted;  it   spoils  the  harmony  of  composition. 


278  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

There  is  another  similar  group,  quite  as  graceful,  by  David 
Hopfer.  Vandyck  seems  to  have  had  both  in  his  memory 
when  he  designed  the  very  beautiful  Riposo  so  often  copied 
and  engraved ;  here  the  Virgin  is  seated  under  a  tree,  in  an 
open  landscape,  and  holds  her  divine  Child ;  Joseph,  behind, 
seems  asleep  ;  in  front  of  the  Virgin,  eight  lovely  angels  dance 
in  a  round,  while  others,  seated  in  the  sky,  make  heavenly 
music.  [Pitti,  Florence,  replica  in  collection  of  Lord  Ash- 
burton.] 

In  another  singular  and  charming  Riposo  by  Lucas  Cranach, 
the  Virgin  and  Child  are  seated  under  a  tree  ;  to  the  left  of 
the  group  is  a  fountain,  where  a  number  of  little  angels  appear 
to  be  washing  linen ;  to  the  right,  Joseph  approaches  leading 
the  ass,  and  in  the  act  of  reverently  removing  his  cap. 

There  is  a  Riposo  by  Albert  Dtirer  which  I  cannot  pass  over. 
[In  the  series,  "Life  of  the  Virgin."  It  is  touched  with  all 
that  homely  domestic  feeling,  and  at  the  same  time  all  that 
fertility  of  fancy,  which  are  so  characteristic  of  that  extraor- 
dinary man.  We  are  told  that  when  Joseph  took  up  his  resi- 
dence at  Matarea  in  Egypt,  he  provided  for  his  wife  and  Child 
by  exercising  his  trade  as  a  carpenter.  In  this  composition  he 
appears  in  the  foreground  dressed  as  an  artisan  with  an  apron 
on,  and  with  an  axe  in  his  hand  is  shaping  a  plank  of  wood. 
Mary  sits  on  one  side  spinning  with  her  distaff,  and  watching 
her  Infant  slumbering  in  its  cradle.  Around  this  domestic 
group  we  have  a  crowd  of  ministering  angels  ;  some  of  these 
little  winged  spirits  are  assisting  Joseph,  sweeping  up  the  chips 
and  gathering  them  into  baskets ;  others  are  merely  "  sporting 
at  their  own  sweet  will."  Several  more  dignified-looking  an- 
gels, having  the  air  of  guardian  spirits,  stand  or  kneel  round 
the  cradle,  bending  over  it  with  folded  hands. 

In  a  Riposo  by  Titian,  the  Infant  lies  on  a  pillow  on  the 
ground,  and  the  Virgin  is  kneeling  before  him,  while  Joseph 
leans  on  his  pilgrim's  staff,  to  which  is  suspended  a  wallet. 
In  another,  two  angels,  kneeling,  offer  fruits  in  a  basket  ;  in 
the  distance,  a  little  angel  waters  the  ass  at  a  stream.  All 
these  are  engraved. 

The  angels,  according  to  the  legend,  not  only  ministered  to 
the  Holy  Family,  but  pitched  a  tent  nightly  in  which  they 
were  sheltered.  Poussin,  in  an  exquisite  picture,  has  repre- 
sented the  Virgin  and   Child   reposing  under  a   curtain   sus- 


E- 
O 


/. 


THE   REPOSE   OF   THE   HOLY   FAMILY  279 

pended  from  the  branches  of  a  tree  and  partly  sustained  by 
angels,  while  others,  kneeling,  oiler  fruit.  (Grosvenor  Gal- 
lery.) 

Poussin  is  the  only  painter  who  has  attempted  to  express 
the  locality.  In  one  of  his  pictures,  the  Holy  Family  reposes 
on  the  steps  of  an  Egyptian  temple  ;  a  sphinx  and  a  pyramid 
are  visible  in  the  background.  In  another  Riposo  by  the  same 
master,  an  Ethiopian  boy  presents  fruits  to  the  Infant  Christ. 
Joseph  is  frequently  asleep  [as  in  Garofalo's  Riposo  at  Ferrara], 
which  is  hardly  consonant  with  the  spirit  of  the  older  legends. 
It  is,  however,  a  beautiful  idea  to  make  the  Child  and  Joseph 
both  reposing,  while  the  Virgin-mother,  with  eyes  upraised  to 
heaven,  wakes  and  watches,  as  in  a  picture  by  Mola  [National 
Gallery]  ;  but  a  yet  more  beautiful  idea  to  represent  the  Vir- 
gin and  Joseph  sunk  in  sleep,  while  the  divine  Infant  lying  in 
his  mother's  arms  wakes  and  watches  for  both,  with  his  little 
hands  joined  in  prayer,  and  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  hovering 
angels  or  the  opening  skies  above. 

In  a  Riposo  by  Rembrandt,  the  Holy  Family  rest  by  night, 
and  are  illuminated  only  by  a  lantern  suspended  on  the  bough 
of  a  tree,  the  whole  group  having  much  the  air  of  a  gypsy  en- 
campment. But  one  of  Rembrandt's  imitators  has  in  his  own 
way  improved  on  this  fancy :  the  Virgin  sleeps  on  a  bank  with 
the  Child  on  her  bosom  ;  Joseph,  who  looks  extremely  like  an 
old  tinker,  is  doubling  his  fist  at  the  ass,  which  has  opened  its 
mouth  to  bray. 

Before  quitting  the  subject  of  the  Riposo,  I  must  mention 
a  very  pretty  and  poetical  legend  which  I  have  met  with  in 
one  picture  only  :  a  description  of  it  may,  however,  lead  to  the 
recognition  of  others. 

There  [was]  in  the  collection  of  Eord  Shrewsbury,  at  Alton 
Towers,  a  Riposo  attributed  to  Giorgione,  remarkable  equally 
for  the  beauty  and  the  singularity  of  the  treatment.  The 
Holy  Family  are  seated  in  the  midst  of  a  wild  but  rich  land- 
scape, quite  in  the  Venetian  style;  Joseph  is  asleep;  the  two 
children  are  playing  with  a  lamb.  The  Virgin,  seated,  holds 
a  book,  and  turns  round,  with  an  expression  of  surprise  and 
alarm,  to  a  female  figure  who  stands  on  the  right.  This  wo- 
man has  a  dark  physiognomy,  ample  flowing  drapery  of  red 
and  white,  a  white  turban  twisted  round  her  head,  and  stretches 


280 


HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 


out  her  hand  with  the  air  of  a  sibyl.  The  explanation  of  this 
striking  group  I  found  in  an  old  ballad-legend.  Every  one 
who  has  studied  the  moral  as  well  as  the  technical  character  of 
the  various  schools  of  Art  must  have  remarked  how  often  the 
Venetians  (and  Giorgione  more  especially)  painted  groups  from 
the  popular  fictions  and  ballads  of  the  time ;  and  it  has  often 
been  regretted  that  many  of  these  pictures  are  become  unin- 
telligible to  us  from  our  having  lost  the  key  to  them,  in  losing 
all  trace  of  the  fugitive  poems  or  tales  which  suggested  them. 

The  religious  ballad  I  allude  to  must  have  been  popular  in 
the  sixteenth  century  ;  it  exists  in  the  Provencal  dialect,  in 
German,  and  in  Italian ;  and,  like  the  wild  ballad  of  St.  John 
Chrysostom,  it  probably  came  in  some  form  or  other  from  the 
East.  The  theme  is,  in  all  these  versions,  substantially  the 
same.  The  Virgin,  on  her  arrival  in  Egypt,  is  encountered  by 
a  gypsy  (Zingara  or  Zingarella)  who  crosses  the  Child's  palm 
after  the  gypsy  manner,  and  foretells  all  the  wonderful  and 
terrible  things  which,  as  the  Redeeemer  of  mankind,  he  was 
destined  to  perform  and  endure  on  earth. 

An  Italian  version  which  lies  before  me  is  entitled,  Canzo- 
netta  nuova,  sopra  la  Madonna,  quando  si  partb  in  Egitto  col 
Bambino  Gesu  e  San  Giuseppe,  "  A  new  Ballad  of  our  Lady, 
when  she  fled  into  Egypt  with  the  Child  Jesus  and  St. 
Joseph." 

It  begins  with  a  conversation  between  the  Virgin,  who  has 
just  arrived  from  her  long  journey,  and  the  gypsy  woman,  who 
thus  salutes  her  :  — 


ZlNGAKELLA. 

Dio  ti  salvi,  bella  Signora, 
E  ti  dia  buona  ventura. 
Ben  venuto,  vecchiarello, 
Con  questo  bambino  bello! 

Madonna. 

Ben  trovata,  sorella  mia, 
La  sua  grazia  Dio  ti  dia. 
Ti  perdoni  i  tuoi  peccati 
L'  infinita  sua  bontade. 

Zingarella. 

Siete  stancbi  e  meschini, 
Credo,  poveri  pellegrini 
Che  cercate  d'  allopgiare. 
Vuoi,  Signora,  scavalcare? 


Gypsy. 

God  save  thee,  fair  lady,  and  give  thee 
good  luck!  Welcome,  good  old  man,with 
this  thy  fair  child ! 

Mary. 

Well  met,  sister  mine!  God  give  thee 
grace,  and  of  his  infinite  mercy  forgive  thee 
thy  sins ! 

Gypsy. 

Ye  are  tired  and  drooping,  poor  pilgrims, 
as  I  think,  seeking  a  night's  lodging.  Lady, 
wilt  thou  choose  to  alight? 


THE   REPOSE   OF   THE    HOLY   FAMILY  281 

Madonna.  Mary. 

Voi  che  siete,  sorella  mia,  0  sister  mine !  full  of  courtesy,  God  of  his 

Tutta  plena  di  cortesia,  infinite  goodness  reward  thee  for  thy  charily. 

Dio  vi  renda  la  carita  We  are  come  from   Nazareth,   and  we  are 

Per  i'  intinitii  sua  bonta.  without  a  place  to  lay  our  heads,  arrived  in  a 

Noi  veniam  da  N'azaretto,  strange  land,  all  tired  and  weary  with  the 

Siamo  senza  alcun  ricetto,  way! 
Arrivati  all'  strania 
Stanchi  e  lassi  dalla  via! 

The  Zingarella  then  offers  them  a  resting-place,  and  straw  and 
fodder  for  the  ass,  which  being  accepted,  she  asks  leave  to  tell 
their  fortune,  but  begins  by  recounting,  in  about  thirty  stanzas, 
all  the  past  history  of  the  Virgin  pilgrim ;  she  then  asks  to  see 
the  Child  — 

Ora  tu.  Signora  mia,  And  now,  O  Lady  mine,  that  art  full  of 

Che  sei  piena  di  cortesia,  courtesy,  grant  me  to  look  upon  thy  Son,  the 

Mostramelo  per  favore  Redeemer! 
Lo  tuo  Figlio  Kedentore! 

The  Virgin  takes  him  from  the  arms  of  Joseph  — 

Datemi,  o  caro  sposo,  Give  me,  dear  husband,  my  lovely  boy, 

Lo  mio  Figlio  grazioso!  that  this  poor  gypsy,  who  is  a  prophetess, 

Quando  il  vide  sta  meschina  may  look  upon  him. 
Zingarella,  che  indovina! 

The  gypsy  responds  with  becoming  admiration  and  humility, 
praises  the  beauty  of  the  Child,  and  then  proceeds  to  examine 
his  palm  ;  which  having  done,  she  breaks  forth  into  a  prophecy 
of  all  the  awful  future,  tells  how  he  would  be  baptized,  and 
tempted,  scourged,  and  finally  hung  upon  a  cross  — 

Questo  Figlio  accarezzato 
Tu  lo  vedrai  ammazzato 
Sopra  d'  una  dura  croce, 
Figlio  bello  !     Figlio  dolce ! 

but  consoles  the  disconsolate  Mother,  doomed  to  honor  for  the 
sake  of  us  sinners  — 

Sei  arrivata  a  tanti  onori 
Per  noi  altri  Peccatori! 

and  ends  by  begging  an  alms  — 

Nnn  ti  vo'  piii  infastidire, 
Bella  Signora  ;  so  ch'  hai  a  fare. 
Dona  la  limosinella 
A  'sta  povera  Zingarella. 


282 


HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 


Return  from  Egypt  (Vanni) 

But  not  alms  of  gold  or  of  silver,  but  the  gift  of  true  repent- 
ance and  eternal  life. 

Vo'  una  vera  contrizione 
Per  la  tua  intercezione, 
Accib  st'  alma  dopo  morte 
Tragga  alle  celesti  porte  ! 

And  so  the  story  ends. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  I  think,  that  we  have  here  the 
original  theme  of  Giorgione's  picture,  and  perhaps  of  others. 

In  the  Provencal  ballad  there  are  three  gypsies,  men,  not 
women,  introduced,  who  tell  the  fortune  of  the  Virgin  and 


THE  RETURN  FROM  EGYPT  283 

Joseph,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Child,  and  end  by  begging  alms 
"to  wet  their  thirsty  throats."  Of  this  version  there  is  a 
very  spirited  and  characteristic  translation  by  Mr.  Kenyon, 
under  the  title  of  "A  Gypsy  Carol."  1 

The  Return  from  Egypt 

According  to  some  authorities,  the  Holy  Family  sojourned 
in  Egypt  during  a  period  of  seven  years,  but  others  assert  that 
they  returned  to  Judea  at  the  end  of  two  years. 

In  general,  the  painters  have  expressed  the  Return  from 
Egypt  by  exhibiting  Jesus  as  no  longer  an  infant  sustained  in 
his  mother's  arms,  but  as  a  boy  walking  at  her  side.  In  a 
picture  by  Francesco  Vanni  [church  of  S.  Quirico,  Siena],  he 
is  a  boy  about  two  or  three  years  old,  and  carries  a  little  basket 
full  of  carpenter's  tools.  The  occasion  of  the  Flight  and 
Return  is  indicated  by  three  or  four  of  the  martyred  Innocents,- 
who  are  lying  on  the  ground.  In  a  picture  by  Domenico  Feti 
[P>elvedere,  Vienna],  two  of  the  Innocents  are  lying  dead  on 
the  roadside.  In  a  very  graceful,  animated  picture  by  Rubens, 
Mary  and  Joseph  lead  the  young  Christ  between  them,  and 
the  Virgin  wears  a  large  straw  hat.  [Formerly  at  Blenheim; 
sold  in  1886  to  Murray.] 

1  A  Day  at  Tivoli,  with  other  Verses,  by  John  Kenyon,  p.  149. 


284  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 


PART  III.  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  VIRGIN  MARY  FROM 
THE  SOJOURN  IN  EGYPT  TO  THE  CRUCIFIXION  OF 
OUR  LORD 

The  Holy  Family 

When  the  Holy  Family,  under  divine  protection,  had  re- 
turned safely  from  their  sojourn  in  Egypt,  they  were  about 
to  repair  to  Bethlehem ;  but  Joseph  hearing  that  Archelaus 
"  did  reign  in  Judea  in  the  room  of  his  father  Herod,  he  was 
afraid  to  go  thither :  and  being  warned  of  God  in  a  dream,  he 
turned  aside  into  Galilee,"  and  came  to  the  city  of  Nazareth, 
which  was  the  native  place  and  home  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 
Here  Joseph  dwelt,  following  in  peace  his  trade  of  a  carpenter, 
and  bringing  up  his  reputed  Son  to  the  same  craft :  and  here 
Mary  nurtured  her  divine  Child ;  "  and  he  grew  and  waxed 
strong  in  spirit,  and  the  grace  of  God  was  upon  him."  No 
other  event  is  recorded  until  Jesus  had  reached  his  twelfth 
year. 

This,  then,  is  the  proper  place  to  introduce  some  notice  of 
those  representations  of  the  domestic  life  of  the  Virgin  and 
the  infancy  of  the  Saviour,  which,  in  all  their  endless  variety, 
pass  under  the  general  title  of  The  Holy  Family  —  the 
beautiful  title  of  a  beautiful  subject,  addressed  in  the  loveliest 
and  most  familiar  form  at  once  to  the  piety  and  the  affections 
of  the  beholder. 

These  groups,  so  numerous,  and  of  such  perpetual  recur- 
rence that  they  alone  form  a  large  proportion  of  the  contents- 
of  picture  galleries  and  the  ornaments  of  churches,  are,  after 
all,  a  modern  innovation  in  sacred  Art.  "What  may  be  called 
the  domestic  treatment  of  the  history  of  the  Virgin  cannot  be 
traced  farther  back  than  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
It  is,  indeed,  common  to  class  all  those  pictures  as  Holy 
Families  which  include  any  of  the  relatives  of  Christ  grouped 
with  the  Mother  and  her  Child ;  but  I  must  here  recapitulate 
and  insist  upon  the  distinction  to  be  drawn  between  the 
domestic  and  the  devotional  treatment  of  the  subject;  a  dis- 
tinction I  have  been  careful  to  keep  in  view  throughout  the 
whole  range  of  sacred  Art,  and  which,  in  this  particular  sub- 


THE    HOLY   FAMILY  285 

ject,  depends  on  a  difference  in  sentiment  and  intention,  more 
easily  felt  than  set  down  in  words. 

*lt  is,  I  must  repeat,  a  devotional  group  where  the  sacred 
personages  are  placed  in  direct  relation  to  the  worshippers,  and 
where  their  supernatural  character  is  paramount  to  every 
other.  It  is  a  domestic  or  an  historical  group,  a  Holy  Fam- 
ily properly  so  called,  when  the  personages  are  placed  in  direct 
relation  to  each  other  hy  some  link  of  action  or  sentiment 
which  expresses  the  family  connection  between  them,  or  by  some 
action  which  has  a  dramatic  rather  than  a  religious  significance.**^ 
The  Italians  draw  this  distinction  in  the  title  "  Sacra  Conver- 
sazione," given  to  the  first-named  subject,  and  that  of  "  Sacra 
Famiglia"  given  to  the  last.  For  instance,  if  the  Virgin, 
watching  her  sleeping  Child,  puts  her  finger  on  her  lip  to 
silence  the  little  St.  John,  there  is  here  no  relation  between 
the  spectator  and  the  persons  represented,  except  that  of  un- 
bidden sympathy  :  it  is  a  family  group,  a  domestic  scene.  But 
if  St.  John,  looking  out  of  the  picture,  points  to  the  Infant, 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God !  "  then  the  whole  representation 
changes  its  significance  ;  St.  John  assumes  the  character  of 
precursor,  and  we,  the  spectators,  are  directly  addressed  and 
called  upon  to  acknowledge  the  "  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of 
mankind." 

If  St.  Joseph,  kneeling,  presents  flowers  to  the  Infant  Christ, 
while  Mary  looks  on  tenderly  (as  in  a  group  by  Raphael),  it 
is  an  act  of  homage  which  expresses  the  mutual  relation  of  the 
three  personages ;  it  is  a  Holy  Family  :  whereas,  in  the  picture 
by  Murillo,  in  our  National  Gallery,  where  Joseph  and  Mary 
present  the  young  Redeemer  to  the  homage  of  the  spectator, 
while  the  form  of  the  Padre  Fterno,  and  the  Holy  Spirit* 
with  attendant  angels,  are  floating  above,  we  have  a  devotional 
group,  a  "Sacra  Conversazione:"  it  is,  in  fact,  a  material 
representation  of  the  Trinity ;  and  the  introduction  of  Joseph 
into  such  immediate  propinquity  with  the  personages  acknow- 
ledged as  divine  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of  the  later  schools 
of  theological  Art.  It  could  not  possibly  have  occurred  before 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  or  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

The  introduction  of  persons  who  could  not  have  been  con- 
temporary, as  St.  Francis  or  St.  Catherine,  renders  the  group 
ideal  and  devotional.      On  the   other  hand,  as  I  have  already 


286  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

observed,  the  introduction  of  attendant  angels  does  not  place 
the  subject  out  of  the  domain  of  the  actual ;  for  the  painters 
literally  rendered  what  in  the  Scripture  text  is  distinctly  set 
down  and  literally  interpreted,  "  He  shall  give  his  angels 
charge  concerning  thee."  Wherever  lived  and  moved  the 
Infant  Godhead,  angels  were  always  supposed  to  be  present ; 
therefore  it  lay  within  the  province  of  an  art  addressed  espe- 
cially to  our  senses  to  place  them  bodily  before  us,  and  to 
give  to  these  heavenly  attendants  a  visible  shape  and  bearing 
worthy  of  their  blessed  ministry. 

The  devotional  groups,  of  which  I  have  already  treated 
most  fully,  even  while  placed  by  the  accessories  quite  beyond 
the  range  of  actual  life,  have  been  too  often  vulgarized  and 
formalized  by  a  trivial  or  merely  conventional  treatment. 
In  these  really  domestic  scenes,  where  the  painter  sought  un- 
reproved  his  models  in  simple  nature,  and  trusted  for  his  effect 
to  what  was  holiest  and  most  immutable  in  our  common  hu- 
manity, he  must  have  been  a  bungler  indeed  if  he  did  not 
succeed  in  touching  some  responsive  chord  of  sympathy  in  the 
bosom  of  the  observer.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  secret  of  the 
universal,  and,  in  general,  deserved,  popularity  of  these  Holy 
Families. 

Two  Figures 

The  simplest  form  of  the  family  group  is  confined  to  two 
figures,  and  expresses  merely  the  relation  between  the  Mother 
and  the  Child.  The  motif  is  precisely  the  same  as  in  the 
formal,  goddess-like,  enthroned  Madonnas  of  the  antique  time  ; 
but  here  quite  otherwise  worked  out,  and  appealing  to  other 
sympathies.  f/In  the  first  instance,  the  intention  was  to  assert 
the  contested  pretensions  of  the  human  mother  to  divine  hon- 
ors;'here  it  was  rather  to  assert  the  humanity  of  her  divine 
Son  ;  and  we  have  before  us,  in  the  simplest  form,  the  first 
and  holiest  of  all  the  social  relations. 

The  primal  instinct,  as  the  first  duty  of  the  mother,  is  the 
nourishment  of  the  life  she  has  given.  A  very  common  sub- 
ject, therefore,  is  Mary  in  the  act  of  feeding  her  Child  from  her 
bosom.  I  have  already  observed  that,  when  first  adopted,  this 
was  a  theological  theme ;  an  answer,  in  form,  to  the  challenge 
of  the  Nestorians,  "  Shall  we  call  him  God  who  hath  sucked 
his  mother's  breast  ?  "     Then,  and  for  at  least  five  hundred 


THE   HOLY    FAMILY 


287 


years  afterwards,  the  simple  maternal  action  involved  a  reli- 
gious dogma,  and  was  the  visible  exponent  of  a  controverted 
article  of  faith.  All  such  controversy  had  long  ceased,  and 
certainly  there  was  no  thought  of  insisting  on  a  point  of  theol- 
ogy in  the  minds  of  those  secular  painters  of  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries  who  have  set  forth  the  representa- 
tion with  such  an  affectionate  and  delicate  grace;  nor  yet  in 
the  minds  of   those  wdio   converted    the   lovely   group  into  a 


Madonna  of  the  Green  Cushion  (Solario) 


moral  lesson.  For  example,  we  find  in  the  works  of  Jeremy 
Taylor  (one  of  the  lights  of  our  Protestant  Church)  a  long 
homily  "  Of  nursing  children,  in  imitation  of  the  blessed  Vir- 
gin-mother; "  and  prints  and  pictures  of  the  Virgin  thus  occu- 
pied often  bear  significant  titles  and  inscriptions  of  the  same 
import  :  -Hili  as  "Le  premier  devoir  d'une  mere,"  etc. 

I  do  not  find  this  motif  in  any  known  picture  by  Raphael; 
hut  in  one  of  his  designs,  engraved  by  Marc  Antonio,  it  is 
represented  with  characteristic  grace  and  delicacy. 


288  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

Goethe  describes  with  delight  a  picture  by  Correggio,  in 
which  the  attention  of  the  Child  seems  divided  between  the 
bosom  of  his  Mother  and  some  fruit  offered  by  an  angel.  He 
calls  this  subject  "  The  Weaning  of  the  Infant  Christ."  Cor- 
reggio, if  not  the  very  first,  is  certainly  among  the  first  of  the 
Italians  who  treated  this  motif  in  the  simple  domestic  style. 
Others  of  the  Lombard  school  followed  him ;  and  I  know  not 
a  more  exquisite  example  than  the  maternal  group  by  Solario, 
now  in  the  Louvre,  styled  "La  Vierge  a  l'Oreiller  Verd,"  from 
the  color  of  the  pillow  on  which  the  Child  is  lying.  The  sub- 
ject is  frequent  in  the  contemporary  German  and  Flemish 
schools  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  the  next  century  there 
are  charming  examples  by  the  Bologna  painters,  and  the  Ndtu- 
ralisti,  Spanish,  Italian,  and  Flemish.  I  would  particularly 
point  to  one  by  Agostino  Caracci  (Parma),  and  to  another  by 
Vandyck  (that  engraved  by  Bartolozzi),  as  examples  of  ele- 
gance ;  while  in  the  numerous  specimens  by  Rubens  we  have 
merely  his  own  wife  and  son,  painted  with  all  that  coarse 
vigorous  life,  and  homely  affectionate  expression,  which  his 
own  strong  domestic  feelings  could  lend  them. 

We  have  in  other  pictures  the  relation  between  the  Mother 
and  Child  expressed  and  varied  in  a  thousand  ways  ;  as  where 
she  contemplates  him  fondly  —  kisses  him,  pressing  his  cheeks 
to  hers ;  or  they  sport  with  a  rose,  or  an_apple,  or  a  bird ;  or 
he  presents  it  to  his  mother ;  these  originally  mystical  emblems 
being  converted  into  playthings.  In  [the  Madonna  della 
Campanello  by  Bartolommeo  Schidone,  in  the  Pitti,  Florence] 
she  is  amusing  him  by  tinkling  a  bell :  the  bell,  which  has 
a  religious  significance,  is  here  a  plaything.  One  or  more 
attendant  angels  may  vary  the  group,  without  taking  it  out  of 
the  sphere  of  reality.  In  a  quaint  but  charming  picture  in 
the  Wallerstein  collection  [now  dispersed],  an  angel  is  sporting 
with  the  Child  at  his  mother's  feet  —  is  literally  his  playfel- 
low ;  and  in  a  picture  by  Cambiaso,  Mary,  assisted  by  an  angel, 
is  teaching  her  Child  to  walk. 

To  represent,  in  the  great  enthroned  Madonnas,  the  Infant 
Saviour  of  the  world  asleep,  has  always  appeared  to  me  a  sole- 
cism :  whereas  in  the  domestic  subject,  the  Infant  slumbering 
on  his  mother's  knee,  or  cradled  in  her  arms,  or  on  her  bosom, 
or  rocked  by  angels,  is  a  most  charming  subject.      Sometimes 


THE   HOLY   FAMILY  289 

angels  are  seen  preparing  his  bed,  or  looking  on  while  he 
sleeps,  with  folded  hands  and  overshadowing  wings.  Some- 
times Mary  hangs  over  his  pillow,  "pondering  in  her  heart" 
the  wondrous  destinies  of  her  Child.  A  poetess  of  our  own 
time  [Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning]  has  given  us  an  interpreta- 
tion worthy  of  the  most  beautiful  of  these  representations,  in 
the  address  of  the  Virgin  Mary  to  the  Child  Jesus — "Sleep, 
sleep,  mine  Holy  One  !  " 

And  art  thou  come  for  saving,  baby-browed 
And  speechless  Being?  art  thou  come  for  saving? 
The  palm  that  grows  beside  our  door  is  bowed 
By  treadings  of  the  low  wind  from  the  south, 
A  restless  shallow  through  the  chamber  waving. 
Upon  its  bough  a  bird  sings  in  the  sun. 
But  thou,  with  that  close  slumber  on  thy  mouth, 
Dost  seem  of  wind  and  sun  already  weary. 
■    Art  come  for  saving,  0  my  weary  One  ? 

Perchance  this  sleep  that  shutteth  out  the  dreary 
Earth-sounds  and  motions,  opens  on  thy  soul 

High  dreams  on  tire  with  God ; 
High  songs  that  make  the  pathways  where  they  roll 
More  bright  than  stars  do  theirs;  and  visions  new 
Of  thine  eternal  nature's  old  abode. 

Suffer  this  mother's  kiss, 

Best  thing  that  earthly  is, 
To  glide  the  music  and  the  glory  through, 
Nor  narrow  in  thy  dream  the  broad  upliftings 

Of  any  seraph  wing. 
Thus,  noiseless,  thus !  —  Sleep,  sleep,  my  dreaming  One. 

Such  high  imaginings  might  be  suggested  by  the  group  of 
Michael  Angelo  —  his  famous  "  Silenzio  :  "  but  very  different 
certainly  are  the  thoughts  and  associations  conveyed  by  some 
of  the  very  lovely,  but  at  the  same  time  familiar  and  common- 
place, groups  of  peasant  mothers  and  sleeping  babies — the 
countless  productions  of  the  later  schools  —  even  while  the 
simplicity  and  truth  of  the  natural  sentiment  go  straight  to 
the  heart. 

I  remember  reading  a  little  Italian  hymn  composed  for  a 
choir  of  nuns,  and  addressed  to  the  sleeping  Christ,  in  which 
he  is  prayed  to  awake  ;  or,  if  he  will  not,  they  threaten  to  pull 
him  by  his  golden  curls  until  they  rouse  him  to  Listen! 

1  have  seen  a  graceful  print  which  represents  Jesus  as  a 
child  standing  at   his  mother's  knee,  while  she  feeds  him  from 


290  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

a  plate  or  cup  held  by  an  angel  ;  underneath  is  the  text, 
'•'  Butter  and  honey  shall  he  eat,  that  he  may  know  to  refuse 
the  evil  and  choose  the  good ;  "  and  in  a  print  of  the  same 
period  the  mother  suspends  her  needle -work  to  contemplate 
the  Child,  who,  standing  at  her  side,  looks  down  compassion- 
ately on  two  little  birds,  which  nutter  their  wings  and  open 
their  beaks  expectingly ;  underneath  is  the  text,  "  Are  not  two 
sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing  ?  " 

Mary  employed  in  needlework,  while  her  cradled  Infant 
slumbers  at  her  side,  is  a  beautiful  subject.  Rosini,  in  his 
"  Storia  della  Pittura,"  publishes  a  group  representing  the 
Virgin  mending  or  making  a  little  coat,  while  Jesus,  seated  at 
her  feet  without  his  coat,  is  playing  with  a  bird  ;  two  angels 
are  hovering  above.  It  appears  to  me  that  there  is  here  some 
uncertainty  as  regards  both  the  subject  and  the  master.  In 
the  time  of  Giottino,  to  whom  Rosini  attributes  the  picture, 
the  domestic  treatment  of  the  Madonna  and  Child  was  unknown. 
If  it  be  really  by  him,  I  should  suppose  it  to  represent  Han- 
nah and  her  son  Samuel. 

All  these,  and  other  varieties  of  action  and  sentiment  con- 
necting the  Mother  and  her  Child,  are  frequently  accompanied 
by  accessory  figures,  forming,  in  their  combination,  what  is 
properly  a  Holy  Family.  The  personages  introduced,  singly 
or  together,  are  the  young  St.  John,  Joseph,  Anna,  Joachim, 
Elizabeth,  and  Zacharias. 

Three  Figures 

The  group  of  three  figures  most  commonly  met  with  is  that 
of  the  Mother  and  Child  with  St.  John.  One  of  the  earliest 
examples  of  the  domestic  treatment  of  this  group  is  a  quaint 
picture  by  Botticelli,  in  which  Mary,  bending  down,  holds 
forth  the  Child  to  be  caressed  by  St.  John  —  very  dry  in 
color,  and  faulty  in  drawing,  but  beautiful  for  the  sentiment. 
(Florence,  Pitti.)  Perhaps  the  most  perfect  example  which 
could  be  cited  from  the  whole  range  of  Art  is  Raphael's  "  Ma- 
donna del  Cardellino  "  in  the  Uffizi,  Florence  ;  another  is  his 
"  Belle  Jardiniere "  of  the  Louvre ;  another,  in  which  the 
figures  are  half  length,  is  his  "  Madonna  del  Giglio  "  [better 
known  as  the  Aldobrandini,  or  Garvagh  Madonna,  in  the  Na- 


THE    HOLY    FAMILY 


291 


Garvagh  Madonna  (Raphael) 

tional  Gallery,  London].  As  I  have  already  observed,  where 
the.  Infant  Christ  takes  the  cross  from  St.  John,  or  presents  it 
to  him,  or  where  St.  John  points  to  him  as  the  Redepmer,  or 
is  represented,  not  as  a  child,  but  as  a  youth  or  a  man,  the 
composition  assumes  a  devotional  significance. 

The  subject  of  the  Sleeping  Christ  is  beautifully  varied  by 
the  introduction  of  St.  John ;  as  where  Mary  lifts  the  veil 
and  shows  her  Child  to  the  little  St.  John,  kneeling  with 
folded  hands:  Raphael's  well-known  "  Vierge  a  la  Diademe  " 
in  the  Louvre  is  an  instance  replete  with  grace  and  expression. 
Sometimes  Mary,  putting  her  finger  to  her  lip,  exhorts  St. 
John  to  silence,  as  in  a  famous  and  oft  repeated  subjecl  by  An 
nihal  Caracci,  of  which  there  is  a  lovely  example  at  Windsor. 
Such  a  group  is  called  in  Italian,  il  Silenzio,  and  in  French  le 
Sommeil  de  Jesus. 


Another  group   of    three    figures   consists   of    the  Mother, 

the  Child,  and    St.  Joseph   as  foster  father.     This  group,  so 


292  HISTORICAL  SUBJECTS 

commonly  met  with  in  the  later  schools  of  Art,  dates  from  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Gerson,  an  ecclesiastic  distin- 
guished at  the  Council  of  Constance  for  his  learning  and  elo- 
quence, had  written  a  poem  of  three  thousand  lines  in  praise 
of  St.  Joseph,  setting  him  up  as  the  Christian  example  of  every 
virtue ;  and  this  poem,  after  the  invention  of  printing,  was 
published  and  widely  disseminated.  Sixtus  IV.  instituted  a 
festival  in  honor  of  the  "  Husband  of  the  Virgin,"  which,  as  a 
novelty  and  harmonizing  with  the  tone  of  popular  feeling,  was 
everywhere  acceptable.  As  a  natural  consequence,  the  churches 
and  chapels  were  filled  with  pictures  which  represented  the 
Mother  and  her  Child,  with  Joseph  standing  or  seated  by,  in 
an  attitude  of  religious  contemplation  or  affectionate  sympathy  ; 
sometimes  leaning  on  his  stick,  or  with  his  tools  lying  beside 
him  ;  and  always,  in  the  old  pictures,  habited  in  his  appropri- 
ate colors,  the  saffron-colored  robe  over  the  gray  or  green  tunic. 
In  the  Madonna  and  Child,  as  a  strictly  devotional  subject, 
the  introduction  of  Joseph  rather  complicates  the  idea  ;  but  in 
the  domestic  Holy  Family  his  presence  is  natural  and  neces- 
sary. It  is  seldom  that  he  is  associated  with  the  action,  where 
there  is  one ;  but  of  this  also  there  are  some  beautiful  ex- 
amples. 

1.  In  a  well-known  composition  by  Raphael,  the  mother 
withdraws  the  covering  from  the  Child,  who  seems  to  have  that 
moment  awaked,  and,  stretching  out  his  little  arms,  smiles  in 
her  face  :   Joseph  looks  on  tenderly  and  thoughtfully.1 

2.  In  another  group  by  Raphael,  in  the  Bridge  water  Gal- 
lery, London,  the  Infant  is  seated  on  the  mother's  knee,  and 
sustained  by  part  of  her  veil ;  Joseph,  kneeling,  offers  flowers 
to  his  divine  foster  Son,  who  eagerly  stretches  out  his  little 
hand  to  take  them. 

In  many  pictures  Joseph  is  seen  presenting  cherries ;  as 
in  the  celebrated  "  Vierge  aux  Cerises "  of  Annibal  Caracci. 
(Louvre.)  The  allusion  is  to  a  quaint  old  legend,  often  in- 
troduced in  the  religious  ballads  and  dramatic  mysteries  of  the 
time.  It  is  related,  that  before  the  birth  of  our  Saviour  the 
Virgin  Mary  wished  to  taste  of  certain  cherries  which  hung 
upon  a  tree   high   above  her  head  ;   she  requested  Joseph  to 

i  [The  picture  here  described  is  the  Madonna  di  Loretto,  known  only  through 
copies,  the  original  having  disappeared  in  the  last  century.] 


THE    HOLY   FAMILY 


293 


procure  them  for  her,  and  he  reaching  to  pluck  them,  the  branch 
bowed  down  to  his  hand. 

3.  There  is  a  lovely  pastoral  composition  by  Titian,  in  which 
Mary  is  seated  under  some  trees,  with  Joseph  leaning  on  his 
star!',  and  the  Infant  Christ  standing  between  them  ;  the  little 
St.  John  approaches  with  his  lap  full  of  cherries;  and  in  the 
background  a  woman  is  seen  gathering  cherries.  This  picture 
is  called   a    Riposo;   but  the   presence  of    St.   John    and  the 


Loretto  Madonna  (Raphael) 

cherry-tree  instead  of  the  date-tree  point  out  a  different  signif- 
ication. [Belvedere,  Vienna.]  Angels  presenting  cherries  on 
a  plate  is  also  a  frecpuent  circumstance,  derived  from  the  same 
legend. 

4.  In  a  charming  picture  by  Garofalo,  Joseph  is  caressing 
the  Child,  while  Mary  — a  rather  full  figure,  calm,  matronly, 
and  dignified,  as  is  usual  with  Garofalo  —  sits  by.  holding  a 
book  in  her  hand,  from  which  she  has  just  raised  her  eyes. 
(Windsor  Gallery.) 


294  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

5.  In  a  family  group  by  Murillo,  Joseph,  standing,  holds 
the  Infant  pressed  to  his  bosom  ;  while  Mary,  seated  near  a 
cradle,  holds  out  her  arms  to  take  it  from  him  :  a  carpenter's 
bench  is  seen  behind.      [St.  Petersburg.] 

6.  A  celebrated  picture  by  Rembrandt,  known  as  "  Le  Me- 
nage du  Menuisier,"  exhibits  a  rustic  interior  :  the  Virgin  is 
seated  with  the  volume  of  the  Scriptures  open  on  her  knees  — 
she  turns,  and,  lifting  the  coverlid  of  the  cradle,  contemplates 
the  Infant  asleep  :  in  the  background  Joseph  is  seen  at  his 
work  ;  while  angels  hover  above,  keeping  watch  over  the  Holy 
Family.  Exquisite  for  the  homely  natural  sentiment,  and  the 
depth  of  the  color  and  chiaroscuro.      (St.  Petersburg.) 

7.  Many  who  read  these  pages  will  remember  the  pretty 
little  picture,  by  Annibal  Caracci,  known  as  "  Le  Raboteur," 
[once]  in  the  collection  of  the  Earl  of  Suffolk,  at  Charlton. 
It  represents  Joseph  planing  a  board,  while  Jesus,  a  lovely 
boy  about  six  or  seven  years  old,  stands  by,  watching  the  pro- 
gress of  his  work.  Mary  is  seated  on  one  side,  plying  her 
needle.  The  great  fault  of  this  picture  is  the  subordinate  and 
utterly  commonplace  character  given  to  the  Virgin-mother : 
otherwise,  it  is  a  very  suggestive  and  dramatic  subject,  and  one 
which  might  be  usefully  engraved  in  a  cheap  form  for  distri- 
bution. 

[Modern  examples  :  — 

8.  Holy  Family  by  Franz  Defregger  in  village  church,  Dbl- 
sach. 

The  Madonna  is  seated  on  a  pedestal  holding  the  Child  stand- 
ing on  her  knee.  St.  Joseph,  seated  below,  reads  ponderingly 
from  a  large  volume.  The  picture  is  marked  by  a  strong  de- 
votional sentiment.  It  is  described  and  engraved  in  Van  Dyke's 
"  Christ-Child  in  Art." 

9.  Holy  Family  by  Ittenbach. 

The  Virgin  seated  on  one  side,  St.  Joseph,  kneeling  on 
the  other.  The  Child  stands  on  the  Virgin's  knee  between 
them.  His  right  arm  is  raised  in  blessing.  The  Virgin's 
face,  like  that  of  the  Sancta  Maria  Virgo  by  the  same  artist, 
has  a  delicate  spiritual  beauty.] 

Sometimes,  in  a  Holy  Family  of  three  figures,  the  third 
figure  is  neither  St.  John  nor  St.  Joseph,  but  St.  Anna.  Now, 
according  to  some  early  authorities,  both  Joachim  and  Anna 


THE   HOLY  FAMILY  295 

died,  either  before  the  marriage  of  Mary  and  Joseph,  or  at  least 
before  the  return  from  Egypt.  Such,  however,  was  the  popu- 
larity of  these  family  groups,  and  the  desire  to  give  them  all 
possible  variety,  that  the  ancient  version  of  the  story  was  over- 
ruled by  the  prevailing  taste,  and  St.  Anna  became  an  impor- 
tant personage.  One  of  the  earliest  groups  in  which  the  mother 
of  the  Virgin  is  introduced  as  a  third  personage  is  a  celebrated, 
but  to  my  taste  not  a  pleasing,  composition  by  Leonardo  da 
Vinci,  in  which  St.  Anna  is  seated  on  a  sort  of  chair,  and  the 
Virgin  on  her  knees  bends  down  towards  the  Infant  Christ, 
who  is  sporting  with  a  lamb.     (Louvre.) 

Four  Figures 

In  a  Holy  Family  of  four  figures,  we  have  frequently  the 
Virgin,  the  Child,  and  the  Infant  St.  John,  with  St.  Joseph 
standing  by.  Raphael's  Madonna  del  Passeggio  1  is  an  exam- 
ple. In  a  picture  by  Palma  Vecchio,  St.  John  presents  a 
lamb,  while  St.  Joseph  kneels  before  the  Infant  Christ,  who, 
seated  on  his  mother's  knee,  extends  his  arms  to  his  foster 
father.  Niccolo  Poussin  was  fond  of  this  group,  and  has  re- 
peated it  at  least  ten  times  with  variations. 

But  the  most  frequent  group  of  four  figures  consists  of  the 
Virgin  and  Child,  with  St.  John  and  his  mother  St.  Elizabeth, 
the  two  mothers  and  the  two  sons.  Sometimes  the  children 
are  sporting  together,  or  embracing  each  other,  while  Mary  and 
Elizaheth  look  on  with  a  contemplative  tenderness,  or  seem 
to  converse  on  the  future  destinies  of  their  sons.  A  very  favor- 
ite and  appropriate  action  is  that  of  St.  Elizabeth  presenting 
St.  John,  ami  teaching  him  to  kneel  and  fold  his  hands,  as  ac- 
knowledging in  his  little  cousin  the  Infant  Saviour.  We  have, 
then,  in  beautiful  contrast,  the  aged  coifed  head  of  Elizabeth, 
with  its  matronly  and  earnest  expression ;  the  youthful  bloom 
and  soft  virginal  dignity  of  Mary  ;  and  the  different  character 
of  the  boys,  the  fair  complexion  and  delicate  proportions  of 
the  Infant  Christ,  and  the  more  robusl  and  brown-complexioned 
John.  [A  modern  painting  of  the  Holy  Family  showing  the 
four  figures  in  these  relations  is  by  Carl  Midler.  The  Virgin 
bends  over  her  beautiful   Babe  while  Elizabeth  presents  the 

1  [The  original  of  this  pirttiro  is  lost.     Thorn  is  an  old  copy  in  the  Naples 
Museum  an<t  another  in  the  Briiigewater  House.] 


296  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

boy  John  to  adore  the  Infant  Saviour.  The  two  groups  are 
contrasted  with  excellent  insight.]  A-  great  painter  will  be 
careful  to  express  •  these  distinctions,  not  by  the  exterior  char- 
acter only,  but  will  so  combine  the  personages  that  the  action 
represented  shall  display  the  superior  dignity  of  Christ  and 
his  Mother. 


Five  ok  Six  Figures 

The  addition  of  Joseph,  as  a  fifth  figure,  completes  the  do- 
mestic group.  The  introduction  of  the  aged  Zacharias  renders, 
however,  yet  more  full  and  complete,  the  circle  of  human  life 
and  human  affection.  We  have,  then,  infancy,  youth,  maturity, 
and  age,  —  difference  of  sex  and  various  degrees  of  relation- 
ship, combined  into  one  harmonious  whole  ;  and  in  the  midst, 
the  divinity  of  innocence,  the  Child-God,  the  brightness  of  a 
spiritual  power,  connecting  our  softest  earthly  affections  with 
our  highest  heavenward  aspirations.1 

A  Holy  Family  of  more  than  six  figures  (the  angels  not  in- 
cluded) is  very  unusual.  But  there  are  examples  of  groups 
combining  all  those  personages  mentioned  in  the  Gospels  as 
being  related  to  Christ,  though  the  nature  and  the  degree  of 
this  supposed  relationship  has  embarrassed  critics  and  commen- 
tators, and  is  not  yet  settled. 

According  to  an  ancient  tradition,  Anna,  the  mother  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  was  three  times  married,  Joachim  being  her 
third  husband  :  the  two  others  were  Cleophas  and  Salome.  By 
Cleophas  she  had  a  daughter,  also  called  Mary,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Alpheus  and  the  mother  of  Thaddeus,  James  Minor, 
and  Joseph  Justus.  By  Salome  she  had  a  daughter,  also 
Mary,  married  to  Zebedee,  and  the  mother  of  James  Major 
and  John  the  Evangelist.  This  idea  that  St.  Anna  was  suc- 
cessively the  wife  of  three  husbands,  and  the  mother  of  three 
daughters,  all  of  the  name  of  Mary,  has  been  rejected  by  later 
authorities ;  but  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  it 
was  accepted,  and  to  that  period  may  be  referred  the  pictures, 
Italian  and  German,  representing  a  peculiar  version  of  the  Holy 

1  The  inscription  under  a  Holy  Family  in  which  the  children  are  caressing 
each  other  is  sometimes  "  Deliciaj  mene  esse  cum  tiliis  homiuum  "  (Prov.  viii.  31: 
"  My  delights  were  with  the  sous  of  men.") 


THE    HOLY   FAMILY  297 

Family  more  properly  styled  "  the  Family  of  the  Virgin 
.Mary." 

A  picture  by  Lorenzo  di  Pavia,  painted  about  1513,  exhibits 
a  very  complete  example  of  this  family  group.  Mary  is  seated 
in  the  centre,  holding  in  her  lap  the  Infant  Christ  ;  near  her 
is  St.  Joseph.  Behind  the  Virgin  stands  St.  Anna,  and  three 
men,  with  their  names  inscribed,  Joachim,  Cleophas,  and  Sa- 
lome. On  the  right  of  the  Virgin  are  Mary  the  daughter 
of  Cleophas,  Alpheus  her  husband,  and  her  children,  Thad- 
deus,  James  Minor,  and  Joseph  Justus.  On  the  left  of  the 
Virgin  are  Mary  the  daughter  of  Salome,  her  husband  Zebedee, 
and  her  children  James  Major  and  John  the  Evangelist. 
[Louvre.] 

A  yet  more  beautiful  example  is  a  picture  by  Perugino  in 
the  Muse'e  at  Marseilles,  which  I  have  already  cited  and  de- 
scribed in  '•'  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art ;  "  here,  also,  the  rela- 
tives of  Christ,  destined  to  be  afterwards  his  apostles  and  the 
ministers  of  his  word,  are  grouped  around  him  in  his  infancy. 
In  the  centre  Mary  is  seated  and  holding  the  Child;  St.  Anna 
stands  behind,  resting  her  hands  affectionately  on  the  shoulders 
of  the  Virgin.  In  front,  at  the  feet  of  the  Virgin,  are  two 
boys,  Joseph  and  Thaddeus ;  and  near  them  Mary,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Cleophas,  holds  the  hands  of  her  third  son,  James  Minor. 
To  the  right  is  Mary  Salome,  holding  in  her  arms  her  son, 
John  the  Evangelist,  and  at  her  feet  is  her  other  son,  James 
Major.  Joseph,  Zebedee,  and  other  members  of  the  family 
stand  around.  The  same  subject  I  have  seen  in  illuminated 
MSS.,  and  in  German  prints.  It  is  worth  remarking  that  all 
these  appeared  about  the  same  time,  between  1505  and  1520, 
and  that  the  subject  afterwards  disappeared  ;  from  which  I 
infer  that  it  was  not  authorized  by  the  Church  ;  perhaps  be- 
cause the  exact  degree  of  relationship  between  these  yonng 
apostles  and  the  Holy  Family  was  not  clearly  made  out,  either 
by  Scripture  or  tradition. 

In  a  composition  by  Parmigiano,  Christ  is  standing  at  his 
mother's  knee  ;  Elizabeth  presents  St.  John  the  Baptist ;  the 
other  little  St.  John  kneels  on  a  cushion.  Behind  the  Virgin 
are  St.  Joachim  and  St.  Anna;  ami  behind  Elizabeth,  Zebedee 
and  Mary  Salome,  the  parents  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  In 
the  centre,  Joseph  looks  on  with  folded  hands. 


298  HISTOKICAL   SUBJECTS 

A  catalogue  raisonne  of  the  Holy  Families  painted  by  dis- 
tinguished artists  including  from  two  to  six  figures  would  fill 
volumes  :  I  shall  content  myself  with  directing  attention  to 
some  few  examples,  remarkable  either  for  their  celebrity,  their 
especial  beauty,  or  for  some  peculiarity,  whether  commendable 
or  not,  in  the  significance  of  the  treatment. 

The  strictly  domestic  conception  may  be  said  to  have  begun 
with  Raphael  and  Correggio ;  and  they  afford  the  most  perfect 
examples  of  the  tender  and  the  graceful  in  sentiment  and  action, 
the  softest  parental  feeling,  the  loveliest  forms  of  childhood. 
Of  the  purely  natural  and  familiar  treatment,  which  came  into 
fashion  in  the  seventeenth  century,  the  pictures  of  Guido, 
Rubens,  and  Murillo  afford  the  most  perfect  specimens. 

1.  Raphael.  [The  Holy  Family  of  Francis  I.  in  the 
Louvre,  Paris.]  Mary,  a  noble  queenly  creature,  is  seated, 
and  bends  towards  her  Child,  who  is  springing  from  his  cradle 
to  meet  her  embrace ;  Elizabeth  presents  St.  John ;  and 
Joseph,  leaning  on  his  hand,  contemplates  the  group :  two 
beautiful  angels  scatter  flowers  from  above.  This  is  the  cele- 
brated picture  once  supposed  to  have  been  executed  expressly 
for  Francis  I. ;  but  later  researches  prove  it  to  have  been 
painted  for  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  duke  of  Urbino.1 

2.  Correggio.  Mary  holds  the  Child  upon  her  knee,  look- 
ing down  upon  him  fondly.  Styled,  from  the  introduction  of 
the  workhasket,  "La  Vierge  an  Panier."  A  finished  example 
of  that  soft,  yet  joyful,  maternal  feeling  for  which  Correggio 
was  remarkable.      (National  Gallery.) 

3.  Pinturicchio.  In  a  landscape,  Mary  and  Joseph  are 
seated  together ;  near  them  are  some  loaves  and  a  small  cask 
of  wine.      More  in  front  the  two  children,  Jesus  and  St.  John, 


1  It  appears  from  the  correspondence  relative  to  this  picture  and  the  "St. 
Michael,"  that  both  pictures  were  painted  by  order  of  this  Lorenzo  de'  Medici, 
the  same  who  is  figured  in  Michael  Angelo's  Pensiero,  and  that  they  were  in- 
tended as  presents  to  Francis  I.  (See  Dr.  Gaye's  Carte  ffgio,  ii.  146  [and  also 
the  Life  of  Raphael,  by  Eugene  Miintz,  p.  411].)  I  have  mentioned  this  Holy 
Family,  not  as  the  finest  of  Raphael's  Madonnas,  but  because  there  is  something 
peculiarly  animated  and  dramatic  in  the  motif  considering  the  time  at  which 
it  was  painted.  It  was  my  intention  to  have  given  here  a  complete  list  of 
Raphael's  Holy  Families;  but  this  has  been  so  well  done  in  the  last  English 
edition  of  Kugler's  Handbook,  that  it  has  become  superfluous  as  a  repetition. 
The  series  of  minute  and  exquisite  drawings  by  Mr.  George  Scharf,  appended 
to  Kugler's  catalogue,  renders  it  easy  to  recognize  all  the  groups  described  in 
this  and  the  preceding  pages. 


THE    HOLY   FAMILY  209 

are   walking  arm   in  arm  ;    Jesus  holds   a  book,  and  John  a 
pitcher,  as  if  they  were  going  to  a  well.      (Siena  Academy.) 

4.  Andrea  del  Sarto.  The  Virgin  is  seated  on  the  ground, 
and  holds  the  Child  ;  the  young  St.  John  is  in  the  arms  of  St. 
Elizabeth,  and  Joseph  is  seen  behind.  (Louvre.)  This  pic- 
ture, another  by  the  same  painter  in  the  National  Gallery,1  a 
third  in  the  collection  of  Lord  Landsdowne,  and  in  general  all 
the  Holy  Families  of  Andrea,  may  be  cited  as  examples  of  fine 
execution  and  mistaken  or  defective  character.  No  sentiment, 
no  action,  connects  the  personages  either  with  each  other,  or 
with  the  spectator. 

5.  Michael  Angelo.  The  composition,  in  the  Florence  Gal- 
lery, styled  a  Holy  Family,  appears  to  me  a  signal  example  of 
all  that  should  be  avoided.  It  is,  as  a  conception,  neither 
religious  nor  domestic ;  in  execution  and  character  exaggerated 
and  offensive,  and  in  color  hard  and  dry. 

Another,  a  bas-relief,  in  which  the  Child  is  shrinking  from 
a  bird  held  up  by  St.  John,  is  very  grand  in  the  forms :  the 
mistake  in  sentiment,  as  regards  the  bird,  I  have  pointed  out 
in  the  Introduction.2  (Royal  Academy,  Burlington  House, 
London.)  A  third,  in  which  the  Child  leans  pensively  on  a 
book  lying  open  on  his  mother's  knee,  while  she  looks  out  on 
the  spectator,  is  more  properly  a  Mater  Amabilis.  (Bargello, 
Florence.) 

There  is  an  extraordinary  fresco  still  preserved  in  the  Casa 
Buonarroti  at  Florence,  where  it  was  painted  on  the  wall  by 
Michael  Angelo,  and  styled  a  Holy  Family,  though  the  exact 
meaning  of  the  subject  has  been  often  disputed.  It  appears  to 
me,  however,  very  clear,  and  one  never  before  or  since  at- 
tempted by  any  other  artist.3  Mary  is  seated  in  the  centre  ; 
her  Child  is  reclining  on  the  ground  between  her  knees;  and 
the  little  St.  John,  holding  his  cross,  looks  on  him  steadfastly. 
A  man  coming  forward  seems  to  ask  of  Mary,  "  Whose  son  is 
this?"  she  most  expressively  puts  aside  Joseph  with  her  hand, 
and  looks  up,  as  if  answering,  "  Not  the  son  of  an  earthly,  but 

1  [The  National  Gallery  Holy  Family  by  Andrea  del  Sarto  is  considered  by 
critic-i  an  inferior  work,  probably  by  a  disciple  or  imitator.] 

'*  [Thin  bas-relief  is  so  unfinished  that  it  is  almost  impossible,  to  determine 
definitely  the  action  of  the  child  John.  See  description  and  engraving  in  the 
Lift  of  Michel  Angelo  by  ■'■  A.  Symonds  ] 

3  This  fresco  is  engraved  in  the  Etruria  1'iltrice. 


300  HISTOKICAL    SUBJECTS 

of  a  heavenly  Father !  "     There  are  five  other  figures  standing 
behind,  and  the  whole  group  is  most  significant. 

6.  Albert  Diirer.  The  Holy  Family  seated  under  a  tree  ; 
the  Infant  is  about  to  spring  from  the  knee  of  his  mother  into 
the  outstretched  arms  of  St.  Anna ;  Joseph  is  seen  behind 
with  his  hat  in  his  hand  ;  and  to  the  left  sits  the  aged  Joachim 
contemplating  the  group. 

7.  Mary  appears  to  have  just  risen  from  her  chair,  the 
Child  bends  from  her  arms,  and  a  young  and  very  little  angel, 
standing  on  tip-toe,  holds  up  to  him  a  flower  —  other  flowers 
in  his  lap  :  a  beautiful  old  German  print. 

8.  Giulio  Romano.  (La  Madonna  del  Bacino.)  (Dresden 
Gallery.)  The  Child  stands  in  a  basin,  and  the  young  St. 
John  pours  water  upon  him  from  a  vase,  while  Mary  washes 
him.  St.  Elizabeth  stands  by,  holding  a  napkin  ;  St.  Joseph, 
behind,  is  looking  on.  Notwithstanding  the  homeliness  of  the 
action,  there  is  here  a  religious  and  mysterious  significance, 
prefiguring  the  Baptism. 

9.  N.  Poussin.  Mary,  assisted  by  angels,  washes  and  dresses 
her  Child. 

10.  V.  Salimbeni.  An  interior.  Mary  and  Joseph  are 
occupied  by  the  Child.  Elizabeth  is  spinning.  More  in  front 
St.  John  is  carrying  two  puppies  in  the  lappet  of  his  coat,  and 
the  dog  is  leaping  up  to  him.  This  is  one  out  of  many  in- 
stances in  which  the  painter,  anxious  to  vary  the  oft-repeated 
subject,  and  no  longer  restrained  by  refined  taste  or  religious 
veneration,  has  fallen  into  a  most  offensive  impropriety.  (Pitti, 
Florence.) 

11.  Ippolito  Andreasi.  Mary,  seated,  holds  the  Infant 
Christ  between  her  knees  ;  Elizabeth  leans  over  the  back  of 
her  chair ;  Joseph  leans  on  his  staff  behind  the  Virgin  ;  the 
little  St.  John  and  an  angel  present  grapes,  while  four  other 
angels  are  gathering  and  bringing  them.  A  branch  of  vine, 
loaded  with  grapes,  is  lying  in  the  foreground.  Christ  looks 
like  a  young  Bacchus  ;  and  there  is  something  mannered  and 
fantastic  in  the  execution.  (Louvre.)  With  this  domestic 
scene  is  blended  a  strictly  religious  symbol,  "  I  am  the  vine." 

12.  Murillo.  Mary  is  in  the  act  of  swaddling  her  Child 
(Luke  ii.  7),  while  two  angels,  standing  near  him,  solace  the 
divine  Infant  with  heavenly  music.      (Madrid  Gallery.) 

13.  Rubens.     Mary,  seated  on  the  ground,  holds  the  Child, 


o 


THE   HOLY   FAMILY  301 

with  a  charming  maternal  expression,  a  little  from  her,  gazing 
on  him  with  rapturous  earnestness,  while  he  looks  up  with 
responsive  tenderness  iu  her  face.  His  right  hand  rests  on  a 
cross  presented  by  St.  John,  who  is  presented  by  St.  Elizabeth. 
Wonderful  for  the  intensely  natural  and  domestic  expression, 
and  the  beauty  of  the  execution.      (Pitti,  Florence.) 

14.  D.  Hopfer.  Within  the  porch  of  a  building,  Mary  is 
seated  on  one  side,  reading  intently.  St.  Anna,  on  the  other 
side,  holds  out  her  arms  to  the  Child,  who  is  sitting  on  the 
ground  between  them  :  an  angel  looks  in  at  the  open  door 
behind.      (Bartsch,  viii.  483.) 

15.  Rembrandt.  (Le  Menage  du  Menuisier.)  A  rustic 
interior.  Mary,  seated  in  the  centre,  is  suckling  her  Child. 
St.  Anna,  a  fat  Flemish  grandame,  has  been  reading  the  vol- 
ume of  the  Scriptures,  and  bends  forward  in  order  to  remove 
the  covering  and  look  in  the  Infant's  face.  A  cradle  is  near. 
Joseph  is  seen  at  work  in  the  background.      (Louvre.) 

16.  Le  Brun.  (The  Benedicite.)  Mary,  the  Child,  and 
Joseph  are  seated  at  a  frugal  repast.  Joseph  is  in  the  act  of 
reverently  saying  grace,  which  gives  to  the  picture  the  title  by 
which  it  is  known.  (Louvre.  There  is  a  celebrated  engraving 
by  Edelinck.) 

It  is  distinctly  related,  that  Joseph  brought  up  his  foster 
Son  as  a  carpenter,  and  that  Jesus  exercised  the  craft  of  his 
reputed  father.  In  the  Church  pictures  we  do  not  often  meet 
with  this  touching  and  familiar  aspect  of  the  life  of  our 
Saviour.  But  in  the  small  decorative  pictures  painted  for  the 
rich  ecclesiastics,  and  for  private  oratories,  and  in  the  cheap 
prints  which  were  prepared  for  distribution  among  the  people, 
and  became  especially  popular  during  the  religious  reaction  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  we  find  this  homely  version  of  the 
subject  perpetually,  and  often  most  pleasingly,  exhibited. 
Tin-  greatesi  and  wisest  Being  who  ever  trod  the  earth  was 
thus  represented,  in  the  ••yes  of  the  poor  artificer,  as  ennobling 
and  sanctifying  labor  and  toil  ;  and  the  quiet  domestic  duties 
and  affections  were  here  elevated  and  hallowed  by  religious 
associations,  and  adorned  by  all  the  graces  of  Art.  Even  where 
the- artistic  treatment  was  not  first-rate  —  was  not  such  as  the 
painters —  priests  and  poets  as  well  as  painters  —  of  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  centuries  would  have  lent   to  such  themes 


302  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

—  still,  if  the  sentiment  and  significance  were  but  intelligible 
to  those  especially  addressed,  the  purpose  was  accomplished, 
and  the  effect  must  have  been  good. 

I  have  before  me  an  example  in  a  set  of  twelve  prints, 
executed  in  the  Netherlands,  exhibiting  a  sort  of  history  of 
the  childhood  of  Christ,  and  his  training  under  the  eye  of  his 
mother.  It  is  entitled  "Jesu  Christi  dei  Domini  Salvatoris 
nostri  Infantia,"  "The  Infancy  of  our  Lord  God  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ ;  "  and  the  title-page  is  surrounded  by  a  border 
composed  of  mus'ical  instruments,  spinning-wheels,  distaffs,  and 
other  implements  of  female  industry,  intermixed  with  all  kinds 
of  masons'  and  carpenters'  tools.  To  each  print  is  appended  a 
descriptive  Latin  verse ;  Latin  being  chosen,  I  stippose,  because 
the  publication  was  intended  for  distribution  in  different 
countries,  and  especially  foreign  missions,  and  to  be  explained 
by  the  priests  to  the  people. 

1.  The  figure  of  Christ  is  seen  in  a  glory  surrounded  by 
cherubim,  etc. 

2.  The  Virgin  is  seated  on  the  hill  of  Sion.  The  Infant  in 
her  lap,  with  outspread  arms,  looks  up  to  a  choir  of  angels, 
and  is  singing  with  them. 

3.  Jesus,  slumbering  in  his  cradle,  is  rocked  by  two  angels, 
while  Mary  sits  by,  engaged  in  needlework.1 

4.  The  interior  of  a  carpenter's  shop.  Joseph  is  plying  his 
work,  while  Joachim  stands  near  him.  The  Virgin  is  measur- 
ing linen,  and  St.  Anna  looks  on.  Two  angels  are  at  play 
with  the  Infant  Christ,  who  is  blowing  soap-bubbles. 

5.  While  Mary  is  preparing  the  family  meal,  and  watching 
a  pot  which  is  boiling  on  the  fire,  Joseph  is  seen  behind  chop- 
ping wood :  more  in  front,  Jesus  is  sweeping  together  the 
chips,  and  two  angels  are  gathering  them  up. 

6.  Mary  is  reeling  off  a  skein  of  thread ;   Joseph  is  squar- 

1  The  Latin  stanza  beneath  is  remarkable  for  its  elegance,  and  because  it  has 
been  translated  by  Coleridge,  who  mentions  that  he  found  the  print  and  the 
verse  under  it  in  a  little  inn  in  Germany. 

Dormi,  Jesu,  mater  ridet,  Sleep,  sweet  babe!  my  cares  beguiling, 

Quae  tarn  duleem  somnem  videt,  Mother  sits  beside  thee  smiling: 

Dormi,  Jesu,  bland ule!  Sleep,  my  darling,  tenderly! 

Si  non  dormis,  mater  plorat,  If  thou  sleep  not,  mother  moumeth, 

Inter  fila  cantans  orat,  Singing  as  her  wheel  she  turneth  : 

Blande,  veni,  somnule!  Come,  soft  slumber,  balmily! 


THE    HOLY   FAMILY  303 

ing  a  plank  ;  Jesus  is  picking  up  the  chips,  assisted  by  two 
angels. 

7.  Mary  is  seated  at  her  spinning-wheel ;  Joseph,  assisted 
by  Jesus,  is  sawing  through  a  large  beam  ;  two  angels  look- 
ing on. 

8.  Mary  is  spinning  with  a  distaff;  behind,  Joseph  is  saw- 
ing a  beam,  on  which  Jesus  is  standing  above ;  and  two  angels 
are  lifting  a  plank. 

9.  Joseph  is  seen  building  up  the  framework  of  a  house, 
assisted  by  an  angel ;  Jesus  is  boring  a  hole  with  a  large  gim- 
let ;  an  angel  helps  him  ;  Mary  is  winding  thread. 

10.  Joseph  is  busy  rooting  in  the  house ;  Jesus,  assisted  by 
the  angels,  is  carrying  a  beam  of  wood  up  a  ladder  ;  below,  in 
front,  Mary  is  carding  wool  or  flax. 

11.  Joseph  is  building  a  boat,  assisted  by  Jesus,  who  has  a 
hammer  and  chisel  in  his  band :  two  angels  help  him.  The 
Virgin  is  knitting  a  stocking ;  and  the  new-built  house  is  seen 
in  the  background. 

12.  Joseph  is  erecting  a  fence  round  a  garden ;  Jesus,  as- 
sisted by  the  angels,  is  fastening  the  palings  together ;  while 
Mary  is  weaving  garlands  of  roses. 

Justin  Martyr  mentions,  as  a  tradition  of  his  time,  that  Je- 
sus assisted  his  foster  father  in  making  yokes  and  ploughs.  In 
Holland,  where  these  prints  were  published,  the  substitution 
of  the  boat-building  seems  very  natural.  St.  Bonaventura,  the 
great  Franciscan  theologian,  and  a  high  authority  in  all  that 
relates  to  the  life  and  character  of  Mary,  not  only  describes 
her  as  a  pattern  of  female  industry,  but  alludes  particularly  to 
the  legend  of  the  distaff,  and  mentions  a  tradition,  that  when 
in  Egypt,  the  Holy  Family  was  so  reduced  by  poverty,  that 
Mary  begged  from  door  to  door  the  fine  flax  which  she  after- 
wards spun  into  a  garment  for  her  Child. 

As  if  to  render  the  circle  of  maternal  duties,  and  thereby 
the  maternal  example,  more  complete,  there  are  prints  of  Mary 
leading  her  Son  to  school.  I  have  seen  one  in  which  he  car- 
ries his  horn-book  in  his  hand.  Such  representations,  though 
popular,  were  condemned  by  the  highest  church  authorities  as 
nothing  less  than  heretical.  The  A-bbd  Mtery  counts  among 
the  artistic  errors  "which  endanger  the  faith  of  good  Chris- 
tians," those  pictures  which  represent  Mary  or  Joseph  instruct- 


304  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

ing  the  Infant  Christ ;  as  if  all  learning,  all  science,  divine 
and  human,  were  not  his  by  intuition,  and  without  any  earthly 
teaching.  (  Vide  Theologie  des  Peintres.)  A  beautiful  Holy 
Family,  by  Schidone,  is  entitled,  "  The  Infant  Christ  learning 
to  read"  (Bridgewater  Gallery)  ;  and  we  frequently  meet  with 
pictures  in  which  the  mother  holds  a  book,  while  the  divine 
Child,  with  a  serious  intent  expression,  turns  over  the  leaves, 
or  points  to  the  letters  :  but  I  imagine  that  these,  and  similar 
groups,  represent  Jesus  instructing  Mary  and  Joseph,  as  he  is 
recorded  to  have  done.  There  is  also  a  very  pretty  legend,  in 
which  he  is  represented  as  exciting  the  astonishment  of  the 
schoolmaster  Zaccheus  by  his  premature  wisdom.  On  these, 
and  other  details  respecting  the  infancy  of  our  Saviour,  I  shall 
have  to  say  much  more  when  treating  of  the  History  of  Christ. 


The  Dispute  in  the  Temple 
Ital.  La  Disputa  nel  Tempio.     Fr.  Je'sus  au  milieu  des  Docteurs. 

The  subject  which  we  call  the  dispute  in  the  Temple,  or 
"  Christ  among  the  Doctors,"  is  a  scene  of  great  importance  in 
the  life  of  the  Bedeemer.  (Luke  ii.  41-52.)  His  appearance 
in  the  midst  of  the  doctors,  at  twelve  years  old,  when  he  sat 
"  hearing  them  and  asking  them  questions,  and  all  who  heard 
him  were  astonished  at  his  understanding  and  his  answers," 
has  been  interpreted  as  the  first  manifestation  of  his  high  char- 
acter as  teacher  of  men,  as  one  come  to  throw  a  new  light  on 
the  prophecies,  — 

For  trailing  clouds  of  glory  had  he  come 
From  heaven,  which  was  his  home  ; 

and  also  as  instructing  us  that  those  who  are  to  become  teach- 
ers of  men  ought,  when  young,  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  age 
and  experience ;  and  that  those  who  have  grown  old  may  learn 
lessons  of  wisdom  from  childish  innocence.  Such  is  the  his- 
torical and  scriptural  representation.  But  in  the  life  of  the 
Virgin  the  whole  scene  changes  its  signification.  It  is  no 
longer  the  wisdom  of  the  Son,  it  is  the  sorrow  of  the  Mother 
which  is  the  principal  theme.  In  their  journey  home  from 
Jerusalem,  Jesus  has  disappeared ;  he  who  was  the  light  of 
her  eyes,  whose  precious  existence  had  been  so  often  threat- 
ened,  has  left  her  care,  and  gone   she  knows   pot  whither. 


THE    DISPUTE   IN   THE    TEMPLE 


305 


Christ  among  the  Doctors  (attributed  to  Giotto) 


"  No  fancy  can  imagine  the  doubts,  the  apprehensions,  the  pos- 
sibilities of  mischief,  the  tremblings  of  heart,  which  the  holy 
Virgin-mother  feels  thronging  in  her  bosom.  For  three  days 
she  seeks  him  in  doubt  and  anguish."1  At  length  he  is  found 
seated  in  the  temple  in  the  midst  of  the  learned  doctors,  "  hear- 
ing them  and  asking  them  questions."  And  she  said  unto 
him,  "  Son,  why  hast  thou  thus  dealt  with  us  ?  behold,  I  and 
thy  father  have  sought  thee  sorrowing."  And  he  said  unto 
them,  "  How  is  it  that  ye  sought  me  ?  wist  ye  not  that  I  must 
be  about  my  Father's  business  ?  " 

Now  there  are  two  ways  of  representing  this  scene.  Tn  all 
the  earlier  pictures,  it  is  chiefly  with  reference  to  the  Virgin- 
mother;  it  is  one  of  the  sorrowful  mysteries  of  the  Rosary. 
The  Child  Jesus  sits  in   the   temple,  teaching  with  hand  up- 

1  Jeremy  Taylor's  Lift  of  Christ. 


306  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

lifted  ;  the  doctors  round  him  turn  over  the  leaves  of  their 
great  books,  searching  the  law  and  the  prophets.  Some  look 
up  at  the  young  inspired  Teacher  —  he  who  was  above  the 
law,  yet  came  to  obey  the  law  and  fulfil  the  prophecies  —  with 
amazement.  Conspicuous  in  front  stand  Mary  and  Joseph,  and 
she  is  in  act  to  address  to  him  the  tender  reproach,  "  I  and  thy 
father  have  sought  thee  sorrowing."  In  the  early  examples  she 
is  a  principal  figure,  but  in  later  pictures  she  is  seen  entering  in 
the  background ;  and  where  the  scene  relates  only  to  the  life 
of  Christ,  the  figures  of  Joseph  and  Mary  are  omitted  alto- 
gether, and  the  Child-teacher  becomes  the  central,  or  at  least 
the  chief,  personage  in  the  group. 

In  a  picture  [in  the  Venice  Academy],  the  subject  is  taken  out 
of  the  region  of  the  actual,  and  treated  altogether  as  a  mystery. 
In  the  centre  sits  the  young  Redeemer,  his  hand  raised,  and 
surrounded  by  several  of  the  Jewish  doctors ;  while  in  front 
stand  the  four  fathers  of  the  Church,  who  flourished  in  the  in- 
tervals between  the  fourth  and  sixth  centuries  after  Christ ;  and 
these,  holding  their  books,  point  to  Jesus,  or  look  to  him,  as  to 
the  source  of  their  wisdom  —  a  beautiful  and  poetical  version 
of  the  true  significance  of  the  story,  which  the  critics  of  the  last 
century  would  call  a  chronological  mistake.  [Formerly  attrib- 
uted to  Giovanni  da  Udine,  but  probably  of  Pal  ma's  school.] 

But  those  representations  which  come  under  our  especial 
consideration  at  present  are  such  as  represent  the  moment  in 
which  Mary  appears  before  her  Son.  The  earliest  instance  of 
this  treatment  is  a  group  [attributed  to]  Giotto  [or  some  pupil, 
in  the  Academy,  Florence].  Dante  cites  the  deportment  of 
the  Virgin  on  this  occasion,  and  her  mild  reproach,  "  con  atto 
dolce  di  madre  "  (Purgatorio,  c.  xv.),  as  a  signal  lesson  of 
gentleness  and  forbearance.  It  is  as  if  he  had  transferred  the 
picture  of  Giotto  into  his  vision  ;  for  it  is  as  a  picture,  not  an 
action,  that  it  is  introduced.  Another,  by  Simone  Memmi  in 
the  Royal  Institution  at  Liverpool,  is  conceived  in  a  similar 
spirit.  In  a  picture  by  Garofalo,  Mary  does  not  reproach  her 
Son,  but  stands  listening  to  him  with  her  hands  folded  on  her 
bosom.  In  a  large  and  fine  composition  by  Pinturicchio,  the 
doctors  throw  down  their  books  before  him,  while  the  Virgin 
and  Joseph  are  entering  on  one   side.1     The   subject  is  con- 

1  [Reference  is  doubtless  to  the  fresco  at  Spello  described  by  Crowe  and 
Cavalcaselle,  History  of  Painting  in  Italy,  vol.  iii.  p.  277.] 


THE    DEATH    OF   JOSEPH  307 

spicuous  in  Albert  Dlirer's  "Life  of  the  Virgin,"  where  Jesus  is 
seated  on  high,  as  one  having  authority,  teaching  from  a  chair 
like  that  of  a  professor  in  a  university,  and  surrounded  by  the 
old  bearded  doctors ;  and  Mary  stands  before  her  !Son  in  an 
attitude  of  expostulation. 

After  the  restoration  of  Jesus  to  his  parents,  they  conducted 
him  home;  "but  his  mother  kept  all  these  sayings  in  her 
heart."  The  return  to  Nazareth,  Jesus  walking  humbly  be- 
tween Joseph  and  Mary,  was  painted  by  Rubens  for  the  Jesuit 
College  at  Antwerp,  as  a  lesson  to  youth.  Underneath  is  the 
text,  "And  he  was  subject  unto  them."  It  has  been  called 
by  mistake  "  The  Return  from  Egypt "  [and  is  so  named  in 
the  catalogue  of  the  Metropolitan  Art  Gallery,  New  York, 
where  the  picture  now  belongs]. 

The  Death  of  Joseph 

Ital.  La  Morte  di  San  Giuseppe.     Fr.  La  Mort  de  St.  Joseph. 

Ger.  Josef's  Tod. 

Between  the  journey  to  Jerusalem  and  the  public  appear- 
ance of  Jesus,  chronologers  place  the  death  of  Joseph,  but  the 
exact  date  is  not  ascertained ;  some  place  it  in  the  eighteenth 
year  of  the  life  of  our  Saviour,  and  others  in  his  twenty-seventh 
year,  when,  as  they  assert,  Joseph  was  one  hundred  and  eleven 
years  old. 

I  have  already  observed,  that  the  enthusiasm  for  the  charac- 
ter of  Joseph,  and  his  popularity  as  a  saint  and  patron  of 
power,  date  from  the  fifteenth  century  ;  and  late  in  the  six- 
teenth century  I  find,  for  the  first  time,  the  death  of  Joseph 
treated  as  a  separate  subject.  It  appears  that  the  supposed 
anniversary  of  his  death  (July  20)  had  long  been  regarded  in 
the  East  as  a  solemn  festival,  and  that  it  was  the  custom  to 
read  publicly,  on  this  occasion,  some  homily  relating  to  his 
life  and  death.  The  very  curious  Arabian  work,  entitled  "The 
History  of  Joseph  the  Carpenter,"  is  supposed  to  be  one  of 
these  ancient  homilies,  and,  in  its  original  form,  as  old  as  the 
fourth  century.1     Here  the  death  of  Joseph  is  described  with 

l  The  Arabic  MS.  in  the  library  at  Paris  is  of  the  year  1299,  and  the  Coptic 
version  as  old  as  L867.    Extracts  from  these  were  become  current  in  t  ho  legends 
of  the  West  about  the  fifteenth  century.     See  the  Neu  Tettamentlichen  -l/'"/. 
ryphen,  edited  in  German  by  Or.  K.  I'.  Borberg. 


308  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

great  detail,  and  with  many  solemn  and  pathetic  circumstances ; 
and  the  whole  history  is  put  into  the  mouth  of  Jesus,  who  is 
supposed  to  recite  it  to  his  disciples  :  he  describes  the  pious 
end  of  Joseph ;  he  speaks  of  himself  as  being  present,  and 
acknowledged  by  the  dying  man  as  "  Redeemer  and  Messiah," 
and  he  proceeds  to  record  the  grief  of  Mary :  — 

"  And  my  mother,  the  Virgin,  arose,  and  she  came  nigh  to 
me  and  said,  '  0  my  beloved  Son,  now  must  the  good  old  man 
die  ! '  and  I  answered  and  said  unto  her,  '  0  my  most  dear 
mother,  needs  must  all  created  beings  die  ;  and  death  will  have 
his  rights,  even  over  thee,  beloved  mother ;  but  death  to  him 
and  to  thee  is  no  death,  only  the  passage  to  eternal  life  ;  and 
this  body  I  have  derived  from  thee  shall  also  undergo 
death.'  " 

And  they  sat,  the  Son  and  the  mother,  beside  Joseph ;  and 
Jesus  held  his  hand,  and  watched  the  last  breath  of  life  trem- 
bling on  his  lips ;  and  Mary  touched  his  feet,  and  they  were 
cold ;  and  the  daughters  and  the  sons  of  Joseph  wept  and 
sobbed  around  in  their  grief  ;  and  then  Jesus  adds,  tenderly, 
"  I,  and  my  mother  Mary,  we  wept  with  them." 

Then  follows  a  truly  oriental  scene,  of  the  evil  angels  rising 
up  with  Death,  and  rejoicing  in  his  power  over  the  saint,  while 
Jesus  rebukes  them ;  and  at  his  prayer  God  sends  down 
Michael,  prince  of  the  angelic  host,  and  Gabriel,  the  herald  of 
light,  to  take  possession  of  the  departing  spirit,  enfold  it  in  a 
robe  of  brightness,  thereby  to  preserve  it  from  the  "dark 
angels,"  and  carry  it  up  into  heaven. 

This  legend  of  the  death  of  Joseph  was,  in  many  forms,  popu- 
lar in  the  sixteenth  century ;  hence  arose  the  custom  of  invoking 
him  as  intercessor  to  obtain  a  blessed  and  peaceful  end,  so  that 
he  became,  in  some  sort,  the  patron  saint  of  death-beds ;  and  it 
is  at  this  time  we  find  the  first  representations  of  the  death  of 
Joseph,  afterwards  a  popular  subject  in  the  churches  and  con- 
vents of  the  Augustine  canons  and  Carmelite  friars,  who  had 
chosen  him  for  their  patron  saint ;  and  also  in  family  chapels 
consecrated  to  the  memory  or  the  repose  of  the  dead. 

The  finest  example  I  have  seen  is  by  Carlo  Maratti,  in  the 
Vienna  Gallery.  St.  Joseph  is  on  a  couch  ;  Christ  is  seated 
near  him ;  and  the  Virgin  stands  by  with  folded  hands,  in  a 
sad,  contemplative  attitude. 


THE   MARRIAGE   AT   CANA  309 

I  am  not  aware  that  the  Virgin  has  ever  been  introduced 
into  any  representation  of  the  temptation  or  the  baptism  of  our 
Saviour. 


The  Marriage  at  Cana  in  Galilee 

Ital.  La  Nozze  di  Cana.     Fr.  Les  Xoces  de  Cana.     Ger.  Die  Hoeh- 

zeit  zu  Cana. 

After  his  temptation  and  baptism,  the  first  manifestation  of 
the  divine  mission  and  miraculous  power  of  Jesus  was  at  the 
wedding  feast  at  Cana  in  Galilee  ;  and  those  who  had  devoted 
themselves  to  the  especial  glorification  of  the  Virgin-mother 
did  not  forget  that  it  was  at  her  request  this  first  miracle  was 
accomplished ;  that  out  of  her  tender  and  sympathetic  com- 
miseration for  the  apparent  want  arose  her  appeal  to  him  — 
not,  indeed,  as  requiring  anything  from  him,  but  looking  to 
him  with  habitual  dependence  on  his  goodness  and  power.  She 
simply  said,  "  They  have  no  wine  !  "  He  replied,  "  Woman, 
what  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ?  mine  hour  is  not  yet  come." 
The  term  woman,  thus  used,  sounds  harsh  to  us ;  but  in  the 
original  is  a  term  of  respect.  Nor  did  Jesus  intend  any  denial 
to  the  mother  whom  he  regarded  with  dutiful  and  pious  rever- 
ence :  it  was  merely  an  intimation  that  he  was  not  yet  entered 
into  the  period  of  miraculous  power.  He  anticipated  it,  how- 
ever, for  her  sake,  and  because  of  her  request.  Such  is  the 
view  taken  of  this  beautiful  and  dramatic  incident  by  the  early 
theologians ;  and  in  the  same  spirit  it  has  been  interpreted  by 
the  painters. 

The  Marriage  at  Cana  appears  very  seldom  in  the  ancient 
representations  taken  from  the  Gospel.  All  the  monkish  insti- 
tutions then  prevalent  discredited  marriage ;  and  it  is  clear 
that  this  distant  consecration  of  the  rite  by  the  presence  of  the 
Saviour  and  his  Mother  did  not  find  favor  with  the  early 
patrons  of  Art. 

There  is  an  old  Greek  tradition,  that  the  Marriage  at  Cana 
was  that  of  John  the  Evangelist.  In  the  thirteenth  century, 
when  the  passionate  enthusiasm  for  Mary  Magdalene  was  at  its 
height,  it  was  a  popular  article  of  belief  that  the  Marriage 
which  Jesus  graced  with  his  presence  was  that  of  John  the 
Evangelist  and  Mary  Magdalene  ;  and  that  immediately  after 
the  wedding  feast,  St.  John  and  Mary,  devoting  themselves  to 


310  HISTORICAL    SUBJECTS 

an  austere  and  chaste  religious  life,  followed  Christ,  and  min- 
istered to  him. 

As  a  scene  in  the  life  of  Christ,  the  Marriage  at  Cana  is  of 
course  introduced  incidentally  ;  but  even  here,  such  were  the 
monastic  principles  and  prejudices,  that  I  find  it  difficult  to 
point  out  any  very  early  example.  In  the  "  Manual  of  Greek 
Art,"  published  by  Didron,  the  rules  for  the  representation  are 
thus  laid  down  :  "  A  table,  around  it  Scribes  and  Pharisees ; 
one  holds  up  a  cup  of  wine,  and  seems  astonished.  In  the 
midst  the  bride  and  bridegroom  are  seated  together.  The 
bridegroom  is  to  have  '  gray  hair  and  a  round  beard  '  (cheveux 
gris  et  barbe  arrondie)  ;  both  are  to  be  crowned  with  flowers ; 
behind  them,  a  servitor.  Christ,  the  Virgin,  and  Joseph,  are 
to  be  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  are  six  jars ;  the  attend- 
ants are  in  the  act  of  filling  them  with  water  from  leathern 
buckets." 

The  introduction  of  Joseph  is  quite  peculiar  to  Greek  Art ; 
and  the  more  curious,  that  in  the  list  of  Greek  subjects  there 
is  not  one  from  his  life,  or  in  which  he  is  a  conspicuous  figure. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  astonished  "ruler  of  the  feast"  (the 
Architriclino),  so  dramatic,  and  so  necessary  to  the  compre- 
hension of  the  scene,  is  scarcely  ever  omitted.  The  Apostles 
whom  we  may  imagine  to  be  present  are  Peter,  Andrew,  James, 
and  John. 

As  a  separate  subject,  the  Marriage  at  Cana  first  became  popu- 
lar in  the  Venetian  school,  and  thence  extended  to  the  Lom- 
bard and  German  schools  of  the  same  period,  that  is,  about  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  most  beautiful  representation  I  have  ever  seen  is  a  fresco, 
by  Luini,  in  the  church  of  San  Maurizio,  at  Milan.  It  belongs 
to  a  convent  of  nuns ;  and  I  imagine,  from  its  introduction 
there,  that  it  had  a  mystic  signification,  and  referred  to  a  divine 
Sposalizio.  In  this  sense  the  treatment  is  perfect.  There 
are  just  the  number  of  figures  necessary  to  tell  the  story,  and 
no  more.  It  is  the  bride  who  is  here  the  conspicuous  figure, 
seated  in  the  centre,  arrayed  in  spotless  white,  and  represented 
as  a  nun  about  to  make  her  profession  ;  for  this  is  evidently 
the  intended  signification.  The  bridegroom  is  at  her  side,  and 
near  to  the  spectator.  Christ  and  the  Virgin  are  seated  together, 
and  appear  to  be  conversing.     A  man  presents  a  cup  of  wine. 


THE    MAKRIAGE   AT   CANA  311 

Including  guests  and  attendants,  there  are  only  twelve  figures. 
The  only  fault  of  this  exquisite  and  graceful  composition  is 
the  introduction  of  a  cat  and  dog  in  front ;  we  feel  that  they 
ought  to  have  been  omitted,  as  giving  occasion  for  irreverent 
witticisms.  This  beautiful  fresco,  which  is  seldom  seen,  being 
behind  the  altar,  was  in  a  very  ruined  condition  when  I  saw  it 
last,  in  1855. 

In  contrast  with  this  picture,  and  as  a  gorgeous  specimen  of 
the  Venetian  style  of  treatment,  we  majr  turn   to  [Veronese's] 
"  Marriage   at  Cana "   in   the    Louvre,   originally    painted   to 
cover  one  side  of  the  refectory  of  the  convent  of  San  Gior- 
gio  Maggiore    at  Venice,   whence    it    was  carried  off   by  the 
French  in  1796.     This  immense  picture  is  about  thirty-six  feet 
in  length,  and  about  twenty  feet  in  height,  and  contains  more 
than  a  hundred  figures  above  life  size.      In  the  centre  Christ  is 
seated,  and  beside  him  the  Virgin-mother.      Both   heads  are 
merely  commonplace,  and  probably  portraits,  like  those  of  the 
other  personages  at  the  extremity  of  the  table.     On  the  left 
are   seated   the  bride   and   bridegroom.      In  the  foreground  a 
company  of  musicians  are    performing  a  concert ;   behind  the 
table  is  a  balustrade,  where  are  seen  numerous  servants  occu- 
pied in  cutting  up  the  viands  and  serving  dishes,  with  attend- 
ants and  spectators.     The  chief  action  to  be  represented,  the 
astonishing  miracle  performed  by  him  at  whose  command  "  the 
fountain  blushed  into  wine,"  is  here  quite  a  secondary  matter  ; 
and  the  value  of  the  picture  lies  in  its  magnitude  and  variety 
as  a  composition,  and  the  portraits  of  the  historical  characters 
and  remarkable  personages  introduced  —  Francis  I.,  his  queen, 
Eleanora  of  Austria,  Charles  V,  and  others.      In  the  group  of 
musicians  in  front  we  recognize  Titian  and  Tintoretto,  old  Bas- 
sano,  and  Paolo  himself. 

The  Marriage  at  Cana,  as  a  refectory  subject,  had  been  un- 
known till  this  time;  it  became  popular,  and  Paolo  [Veronese] 
afterwards  repeated  it  several  times.  The  most  beautiful  of  all, 
to  my  feeling,  is  that  in  the  Dresden  Gallery,  where  the  "  ruler 
of  the  feast,"  holding  up  the  glass  of  wine  with  admiration, 
seems  to  exclaim,  "Thou  hast  kept  the  good  wine  until  now." 
In  another,  which  is  at  Milan,  the  Virgin  turns  round  to  the 
attendant,  and  desires  him  to  obey  her  Son,  —  ••  Whatsoever 
he  saith   unto  you.  do  it  !  " 

As  the  Marriage  at  Cana  belongs,  as  a  subject,  rather  to  the 


312  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

history  of  Christ   than  to  that  of  the  Virgin   his  Mother,  I 
shall  not  enter  into  it  further  here,  but  proceed. 

The  Ministry  of  Christ 

After  the  marriage  at  Cana  in  Galilee,  which  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  commencement  of  the  miraculous  mission  of  our 
Lord,  we  do  not  hear  anything  of  his  Mother,  the  Virgin,  till 
the  time  approached  when  he  was  to  close  his  ministry  by  his 
death.  She  is  not  once  referred  to  by  name  in  the  Gospels 
until  the  scene  of  the  Crucifixion.  We  are  indeed  given  to 
understand,  that  in  the  journeys  of  our  Saviour,  and  particu- 
larly when  he  went  up  from  Nazareth  to  Jerusalem,  the  women 
followed  and  ministered  to  him  (Matt,  xxvii.  55  ;  Luke  viii.  2) ; 
and  those  who  have  written  the  life  of  the  Virgin  for  the  edi- 
fication of  the  people,  and  those  who  have  translated  it  into 
the  various  forms  of  Art,  have  taken  it  for  granted  that  She, 
his  Mother,  could  not  have  been  absent  or  indifferent  where 
others  attended  with  affection  and  zeal :  but  I  do  not  remem- 
ber any  scene  in  which  she  is  an  actor,  or  even  a  conspicuous 
figure. 

Among  the  carvings  on  the  stalls  at  Amiens  there  is  one 
which  represents  the  passage  (Matt.  xii.  46)  wherein  our  Sa- 
viour, preaching  in  Judea,  is  told  that  his  mother  and  his  breth- 
ren stand  without.  "  But  he  answered  and  said  unto  him  that 
told  him,  Who  is  my  mother,  and  who  are  my  brethren  ? 
And  he  stretched  forth  his  hand  toward  his  disciples,  and  said, 
Behold  my  mother  and  my  brethren  !  "  The  composition 
exhibits  on  one  side  Jesus  standing  and  teaching  his  disciples; 
while  on  the  other,  through  an  open  door,  we  perceive  the  Vir- 
gin and  two  or  three  others.  This  representation  is  very  rare. 
The  date  of  these  stalls  is  the  sixteenth  century  ;  and  such  a 
group  in  a  series  of  the  life  of  the  Virgin  could  not,  I  think, 
have  occurred  in  the  fifteenth.  It  would  have  been  quite  in- 
consistent with  all  the  religious  tendencies  of  that  time,  to 
exhibit  Christ  as  preaching  with  in,  while  his  "divine  and  most 
glorious"  Mother  was  standing  without. 

The  theologians  of  the  middle  ages  insist  on  the  close  and 
mystical  relation  which  they  assure  us  existed  between  Christ 
and  his  Mother :  however  far  separated,  there  was  constant 
communion  between  them ;    and  wherever  he  might  be  —  in 


LO   SPASIMO  313 

whatever  acts  of  love,  or  mercy,  or  benign  wisdom  occupied 
for  the  good  of  man  —  there  was  also  his  .Mother,  present  with 
him  in  the  spirit.  I  think  we  can  trace  the  impress  of  this 
mysticism  in  some  of  the  productions  of  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries.  For  example,  among  the  frescoes  by  An- 
gelico  da  Fiesole  in  the  cloisters  of  St.  Mark,  at  Florence,  there 
is  one  of  the  Transfiguration,  where  the  Saviour  stands  glori- 
fied with  arms  outspread  —  a  simple  and  sublime  conception  — 
and  on  each  side  half-figures  of  Moses  and  Elias  :  lower  down 
appear  the  Virgin  and  St.  Dominick.  There  is  also  in  the 
same  series  a  fresco  of  the  Last  Supper  as  the  Eucharist,  in 
which  the  Virgin  is  kneeling,  glorified,  on  one  side  of  the 
picture,  and  appears  as  a  partaker  of  the  rite.  Such  a  version 
of  either  subject  must  be  regarded  as  wholly  mystical  and  ex- 
ceptional, and  I  am  not  acquainted  with  any  other  instance. 

Lo  SpAsmo. 

"  0  what  avails  me  now  that  honor  high, 
To  have  conceived  of  God,  and  that  salute, 
*  Hail,  highly  favored  among  women  blest  ! ' 
While  I  to  sorrows  am  no  less  advanced, 
And  fears  as  eminent,  above  the  lot 
Of  other  women  by  the  birth  I  bore." 

"  This  is  my  favored  lot, 
My  exaltation  to  afflictions  high." 

Milton. 

In  the  Passion  of  our  Lord,  taken  in  connection  with  the 
life  of  the  Virgin-mother,  there  are  three  scenes  in  which  she 
is  associated  with  the  action  as  an  important,  if  not  a  princi- 
pal, personage. 

We  are  told  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  (chap,  xvii.),  that 
Christ  took  a  solemn  farewell  of  his  disciples :  it  is  therefore 
supposed  that  he  did  not  go  up  to  his  death  without  taking 
leave  of  his  Mother  —  without  preparing  her  for  thai  grievous 
agony  by  all  the  comfort  that  his  tender  and  celestial  pity  and 
superior  nature  could  bestow.  This  parting  of  Christ  and  his 
Mother  before  the  Crucifixion  is  a  modern  subject.  I  am  nol 
acquainted  with  any  example  previous  to  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteentli  century.  The  earliesl  I  have  met  with  is  by  Albert 
D'urer,  in  the  series  of  the  Life  of  the  Virgin,  bul  there  are 
probably  examples  more  ancient,  or  at  least  contemporary.     In 


314  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

Albert  Diirer's  composition,  Mary  is  sinking  to  the  earth,  as  if 
overcome  with  affliction,  and  is  sustained  in  the  arms  of  two 
women ;  she  looks  up  with  folded  hands  and  streaming  eyes  to 
her  Son,  who  stands  before  her  ;  he,  with  one  hand  extended, 
looks  down  upon  her  compassionately,  and  seems  to  give  her 
his  last  benediction.  I  remember  another  instance,  by  Paul 
Veronese,  full  of  that  natural  affectionate  sentiment  which 
belonged  to  the  Venetian  school.  (Pitti,  Florence.)  In  a  very 
beautiful  picture  by  Carotto  of  Verona,  Jesus  kneels  before  his 
Mother,  and  receives  her  benediction  before  he  departs  :  this 
must  be  regarded  as  an  impropriety,  a  mistake  in  point  of  sen- 
timent, considering  the  peculiar  relation  between  the  two  per- 
sonages ;  but  it  is  a  striking  instance  of  the  popular  notions  of 
the  time  respecting  the  high  dignity  of  the  Virgin-mother.  I 
have  not  seen  it  repeated.1     (Verona,  San  Bernardino.) 

It  appears  from  the  Gospel  histories,  that  the  women  who 
had  attended  upon  Christ  during  his  ministry  failed  not  in 
their  truth  and  their  love  to  the  last.  In  the  various  circum- 
stances of  the  Passion  of  our  Lord,  where  the  Virgin-mother 
figures  as  an  important  personage,  certain  of  these  women  are 
represented  as  always  near  her,  and  sustaining  her  with  a  ten- 
der and  respectful  sympathy.  Three  are  mentioned  by  name 
—  Mary  Magdalene,  Mary  the  wife  of  Cleophas,  and  Mary 
the  mother  of  James  and  John.  Martha,  the  sister  of  Mary 
Magdalene,  is  also  included,  as  I  infer  from  her  name,  which 
in  several  instances  is  inscribed  in  the  nimbus  encircling  her 
head.  I  have  in  another  place  given  the  story  of  Martha,  and 
the  legends  which  in  the  fourteenth  century  converted  her  into 
a  very  important  character  in  sacred  Art.  (Sacred  and  Legend- 
ary Art.)  These  women,  therefore,  form,  with  the  Virgin, 
the  group  of  five  female  figures  which  are  generally  included 
in  the  scriptural  scenes  from  the  Life  of  Christ. 

Of  course,  these  incidents,  and  more  especially  the  "  Proces- 
sion to  Calvary "  and  the  "  Crucifixion,"  belong  to  another 
series  of  subjects  (the  History  of  our  Lord)  ;  but  they  are 
also  included  in  a  series  of  the  Bosary  as  two  of  the  mystical 

1  It  is  worth  remarking,  with  regard  to  this  picture,  that  the  intendant  of  the 
convent  rebuked  the  artist,  declaring  that  he  had  made  the  Saviour  show  too 
little  reverence  for  his  Mother,  seeing  that  he  knelt  to  her  on  one  knee  only. 
See  the  anecdote  in  Vasari,  vol.  i.  p.  651.     Fl.  edit.  1838. 


I.o   SPASIMO  815 

Sorrows  ;  and  under  this  point  of  view  I  must  draw  attention 
to  the  peculiar  treatment  of  the  Virgin  in  some  remarkable 
examples,  which  will  serve  as  a  guide  to  others. 

The  Procession  to  Calvary  (2Z  Portamento  del  Croce)  fol- 
lowed a  path  loading  from  the  gate  of  Jerusalem  to  Mount 
Calvary,  which  has  been  kept  in  remembrance  and  sanctified 
as  the  Via  Dolorosa ;  and  there  is  a  certain  spot  near  the 
summit  of  the  hill,  where,  according  to  a  very  ancient  tradi- 
tion, the  Virgin-mother,  and  the  women  her  companions,  placed 
themselves  to  witness  the  sorrowful  procession ;  where  the 
Mother,  beholding  her  divine  Son  dragged  along,  all  bleeding 
from  the  scourge,  and  sinking  under  his  cross,  in  her  extreme 
agony  sank,  fainting,  to  the  earth.  This  incident  gave  rise  to 
one  of  the  mournful  festivals  of  the  Passion  Week,  under  the 
title,  in  French,  of  Notre  Dame  du  Spasme  or  du  Pumoison  ; 
in  Italian  La  Madonna  dello  Spasimo,  or  II  Pianto  di  Maria  ; 
and  this  is  the  title  given  to  some  of  those  representations  in 
which  the  affliction  of  Mary  is  a  prominent  part  of  the  tragic 
interest  of  the  scene.  She  is  sometimes  sinking  to  the  earth, 
sustained  by  the  women  or  by  St.  John  ;  sometimes  she  stands 
with  clasped  hands,  mute  and  motionless  with  excess  of 
anguish  ;  sometimes  she  stretches  out  her  arms  to  her  Son,  as 
Jesus,  sinking  under  the  weight  of  his  cross,  turns  his  benign 
eyes  upon  her  and  the  others  who  follow  him:  "  Daughters  of 
Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me  !  " 

This  is  the  moment  chosen  by  Raphael  in  that  sublime 
composition  celebrated  under  the  title  "  Lo  Spasimo  di  Sicilia  " 
(Madrid  Gallery);  so  called  because  it  was  originally  painted 
for  the  high  altar  of  the  church  of  the  Sicilian  Olivetans  at 
Palermo,  dedicated  to  the  Madonna  dello  Spasimo.  It  was 
thence  removed,  by  order  of  Philip  IV.  of  Spain,  early  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  is  now  placed  in  the  gallery  at  Ma- 
drid. Here  the  group  of  the  five  women  forms  an  important 
part  of  the  picture,  occupying  the  foreground  on  the  right. 
The  expression  in  the  face  of  the  Mother,  stretching  forth  her 
arms  to  her  Son  with  a  look  of  appealing  agony,  has  always 
been  cited  as  one  of  the  great  examples  of  Raphael's  tragic 
power.  It  is  well  known  that  in  this  composition  the  attitude 
'if  Christ  was  su^ested  by  the  contemporary  engraving  of 
Martin   Schoen ;   but   the  prominence  given   to  the  group  of 


316  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

women,  the  dramatic  propriety  and  pathetic  grace  in  the  action 
of  each,  and  the  consummate  skill  shown  in  the  arrangement 
of  the  whole,  belong  only  to  Raphael.1  In  Martin  Schoen's 
vivid  composition,  the  Virgin,  and  the  women  her  companions, 
are  seen  far  off  in  the  background,  crouching  in  the  "  hollow 
way  "  between  two  cliffs,  from  which  spot,  according  to  the 
old  tradition,  they  beheld  the  sad  procession.  We  have  quite 
a  contrary  arrangement  in  an  early  composition  by  Lucas  van 
Leyden.  The  procession  to  Calvary  is  seen  moving  along  in 
the  far  distance,  while  the  foreground  is  occupied  by  two  fig- 
ures only,  Mary  in  a  trance  of  anguish  sustained  by  the  weep- 
ing St.  John. 

In  a  very  fine  "Portamento  della  Croce,"  by  Gaudenzio 
Ferrari,  one  of  the  soldiers  or  executioners,  in  repulsing  the 
sorrowful  Mother,  lifts  up  a  stick  as  if  to  strike  her  —  a  gratu- 
itous act  of  ferocity,  which  shocks  at  once  the  taste  and  the 
feelings,  and,  without  adding  anything  to  the  pathos  of  the 
situation,  detracts  from  the  religious  dignity  of  the  theme.  It 
is  like  the  soldier  kicking  our  Saviour,  which  I  remember  to 
have  seen  in  a  version  of  the  subject  by  a  much  later  painter, 
Daniele  Crespi. 

Murillo  represents  Christ  as  fainting  under  the  weight  of 
the  cross,  while  the  Virgin  sits  on  the  ground  by  the  wayside, 
gazing  on  him  with  fixed  eyes  and  folded  hands,  and  a  look  of 
unutterable  anguish.  This  picture,  remarkable  for  the  intense 
expression,  was  in  the  collection  of  Lord  Orford,  and  sold  in 
June,  1856.  {Vide  Bedford's  Sales,  vol.  i.  p.  153,  vol.  ii.  p. 
268.] 

The  Ecce  Homo,  by  Correggio,  in  our  National  Gallery,  is 
treated  in  a  very  peculiar  manner  with  reference  to  the  Virgin, 
and  is,  in  fact,  another  version  of  Lo  Spasimo,  the  fourth  of 

i  The  veneration  at  all  times  entertained  for  this  picture  was  probably  en- 
hanced by  a  remarkable  fact  in  its  history.  Raphael  painted  it  towards  the 
close  of  the  year  1517,  and  when  finished  it  was  embarked  at  the  port  of  Ostia, 
to  be  consigned  to  Palermo.  A  storm  came  on,  the  vessel  foundered  at  sea,  and 
all  was  lost  except  the  case  containing  this  picture,  which  was  floated  by  the 
currents  into  the  Bay  of  Genoa;  and,  on  being  landed,  the  wondrous  master- 
piece of  Art  was  taken  out  unhurt.  The  Genoese  at  first  refused  to  give  it  up, 
insisting  that  it  had  been  preserved  and  floated  to  their  shores  by  thp  miraculous 
interposition  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  herself;  and  it  required  a  positive  mandate 
from  the  pope  before  thev  would  restore  it  to  the  Olivetan  fathers.  See  Passa- 
vant's  Rafael,  i.  292  [of  Ger.  ed. ;  page  238  in  Eng.  abridged  ed.] 


LO   SPAS1  M< '    l>i    SICILl  \  I  Raphael) 


THE   CRUCIFIXION  317 

her  ineffable  sorrows.  Here  Christ,  as  exhibited  to  the  people 
by  Pilate,  is  placed  in  the  distance,  and  is  in  all  respects  the 
least  important  part  of  the  picture,  of  which  we  have  the  real 
subject  in  the  far  more  prominent  figure  of  the  Virgin  in  the 
foreground.  At  sight  of  the  agony  and  degradation  of  her 
Son,  she  closes  her  eyes,  and  is  on  the  point  of  swooning. 
The  pathos  of  expression  in  the  half-unconscious  face  and 
helpless,  almost  lifeless  hands,  which  seem  to  seek  support,  is 
particularly  tine. 

The  Crucifixion 

"  Verum  stabas,  optima  Mater,  juxta  crucem  Filii  tui,  non  solum  corpore,  sed 
mentis  constantia." 

This  great  subject  belongs  more  particularly  to  the  Life  of 
Christ.  It  is,  I  observe,  always  omitted  in  a  series  of  the  Life 
of  the  Virgin,  unless  it  be  the  Rosary,  in  which  the  "  Vigil  of 
the  Virgin  by  the  Cross  "  is  the  fifth  and  greatest  of  the  Seven 
Sorrows. 

We  cannot  fail  to  remark,  that  whether  the  Crucifixion  be 
treated  as  a  mystery  or  as  an  event,  Mary  is  always  an  impor- 
tant figure. 

In  the  former  case  she  stands  alone  on  the  right  of  the 
cross,  and  St.  John  on  the  left.1  She  looks  up  with  an  ex- 
pression of  mingled  grief  and  faith,  or  bows  her  head  upon  her 
clasped  hands  in  resignation.  In  such  a  position  she  is  the 
idealized  Mater  Dolorosa,  the  Daughter  of  Jerusalem,  the  per- 
sonified Church  mourning  for  the  great  Sacrifice  ;  and  this  view 
of  the  subject  I  have  already  discussed  at  length. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  the  Crucifixion  is  treated  as  a  great 
historical  event,  as  a  living  scene  acted  before  our  eyes,  then 
the  position  and  sentiment  given  to  the  Virgin  are  altogether 
different,  but  equally  fixed  by  the  traditions  of  Art.  That 
she  was  present,  and  near  at  hand,  we  must  presume  from  the 
Gospel  of  St.  John,  who  was  an  eye-witness;  and  most  of  the 
theological  writers  infer  that  on  this  occasion  her  constancy 
and  sublime  faith  were  even  greater  than  her  grief,  and  that  her 
heroic  fortitude  elevated  her  equally  above  the  weeping  women 

1  It  ha«  bpr-n  a  question  with  the  learnfd  whether  the  Virgin  Mary,  with  St. 
John,  ought  not  to  stand  on  the  left  of  the  cross,  in  allusion  to  Psalm  cxlii.  Oil- 
way-  interpreted  as  prophetic  "f  the  Passion  of  Christ)  ver.  4  :  "I  looked  on 
my  right  hand,  and  beheld,  but  there  was  no  man  that  would  know  me." 


318  HISTOKICAL   SUBJECTS 

and  the  timorous  disciples.  This  is  not,  however,  the  view 
which  the  modern  painters  have  taken,  and  even  the  most 
ancient  examples  exhibit  the  maternal  grief  for  a  while  over- 
coming constancy.  She  is  standing  indeed,  but  in  a  fainting 
attitude,  as  if  about  to  sink  to  the  earth,  and  is  sustained  in 
the  arms  of  the  two  Maries,  assisted  sometimes,  but  not  gener- 
ally, by  St.  John  ;  Mary  Magdalene  is  usually  embracing  the 
foot  of  the  cross.  With  very  little  variation  this  is  the  usual 
treatment  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  I 
do  not  know  who  was  the  first  artist  who  placed  the  Mother 
prostrate  on  the  ground  ;  but  it  must  be  regarded  as  a  fault, 
and  as  detracting  from  the  high  religious  dignity  of  the  scene. 
In  all  the  greatest  examples,  from  Cimabue,  Giotto,  and  Pietro 
Cavallini,  down  to  Angelico,  Masaccio,  and  Andrea  Mantegna, 
and  their  contemporaries,  Mary  is  uniformly  standing. 

In  a  Crucifixion  by  Martin  Schoen,  the  Virgin,  partly  held 
up  in  the  arms  of  St.  John,  embraces  with  fervor  the  foot  of 
the  cross :  a  very  rare  and  exceptional  treatment,  for  this  is 
the  proper  place  of  Mary  Magdalene.  In  Albert  Durer's  com- 
position, she  is  just  in  the  act  of  sinking  to  the  ground  in  a 
very  natural  attitude,  as  if  her  limbs  had  given  way  under 
her.  In  Tintoretto's  celebrated  Crucifixion  we  have  an  exam- 
ple of  the  Virgin  placed  on  the  ground,  which,  if  not  one  of 
the  earliest,  is  one  of  the  most  striking  of  the  more  modern 
conceptions.  Here  the  group  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  is  won- 
derfully dramatic  and  expressive,  but  certainly  the  reverse  of 
dignified.  Mary  lies  fainting  on  the  earth  ;  one  arm  is  sus- 
tained by  St.  John,  the  other  is  round  the  neck  of  a  woman 
who  leans  against  the  bosom  of  the  Virgin,  with  eyes  closed, 
as  if  lost  in  grief.  Mary  Magdalene  and  another  look  up  to 
the  crucified  Saviour,  and  more  in  front  a  woman  kneels 
wrapped  up  in  a  cloak,    and   hides  her  face.      (Venice,  San 

PvOCCO.) 

Zani  has  noticed  the  impropriety  here,  and  in  other  in- 
stances, of  exhibiting  the  Grandissima  Donna  as  prostrate, 
and  in  a  state  of  insensibility  ;  a  style  of  treatment  which,  in 
more  ancient  times,  would  have  been  inadmissible.  The  idea 
embodied  by  the  artist  should  be  that  which  Bishop  Taylor 
has  -painted  in  words  :  "  By  the  cross  stood  the  holy  Virgin- 
mother,  upon  whom  old  Simeon's  prophecy  was  now  verified  ; 
for  now  she  felt  a  sword  passing  through  her  very  soul.      She 


THE   DESCENT  FROM   THE   CROSS  319 

stood  without  clamor  and  womanish  noises  ;  sad,  silent,  and  with 
a  modest  grief,  deep  as  the  waters  of  the  abyss,  but  smooth  as 
the  face  of  a  pool ;  full  of  love,  and  patience,  and  sorrow,  and 
hope!"  To  suppose  that  this  noble  creature  lost  all  power 
over  her  emotions,  lost  her  consciousness  of  the  "  high  aillie- 
tion  "  she  was  called  to  sutler,  is  quite  unworthy  of  the  grand 
ideal  of  womanly  perfection  here  placed  before  us.  It  is  clear, 
however,  that  in  the  later  representations  the  intense  expres- 
sion of  maternal  anguish  in  the  hymn  of  the  Stabat  .Mater 
gave  the  key  to  the  prevailing  sentiment.  And  as  it  is  some- 
times easier  to  faint  than  to  endure,  so  it  was  easier  for  certain 
artists  to  express  the  pallor  and  prostration  of  insensibility 
than  the  sublime  faith  and  fortitude  which  in  that  extremest 
hour  of  trial  conquered  even  a  mother's  unutterable  woe. 

That  most  affecting  moment,  in  which  the  dying  Saviour 
recommends  his  Mother  to  the  care  of  the  best  beloved  of  his 
disciples,  I  have  never  seen  worthily  treated.  There  are,  how- 
ever, some  few  Crucifixions  in  which  I  presume  the  idea  to 
have  been  indicated  ;  as  where  the  Virgin  stands  leaning  on 
St.  John,  with  his  sustaining  arm  reverently  round  her,  and 
both  looking  up  to  the  Saviour,  whose  dying  face  is  turned 
towards  them.  There  is  an  instance  by  Albert  Diirer  (the  wood- 
cut in  the  series  "Large  Passion").  But  the  examples  are  so 
few  as  to  be  exceptional. 

The  Descext  from  the  Cross  and  the  Deposition  are 
two  separate  themes.  In  the  first,  according  to  the  antique 
formula,  the  Virgin  should  stand  ;  for  here,  as  in  the  Cruci- 
fixion, she  must  be  associated  with  the  principal  action,  and 
not,  by  the  excess  of  her  grief,  disabled  from  taking  her  part  in 
it.  In  the  old  legend  it  is  said,  that  when  Joseph  of  Arima- 
thea  and  Nicodemus  wrenched  out  the  nails  which  fastened 
the  hands  of  our  Lord  to  the  cross,  St.  John  took  them  away 
secretly,  that  his  Mother  might  not  see  them — "allin  que  la 
Vierge  Maria  iic  les  veit  pas,  crainte  que  le  cceur  ne  lui  amo- 
list."  And  then,  while  Nicodemus  drew  forth  the  nails  which 
fastened  his  feet,  Joseph  of  Arimathea  sustained  the  body,  so 
that  the  head  and  arms  of  the  dead  Saviour  hung  over  his 
shoulder.  And  the  afflicted  Mother,  seeing  this,  arose  on  her 
feet,  and  she  took  the  bleeding  hands  of  her  Son.  as  they  hung 
down,  and  clasped  them  in  her  own,  and  kissed  him  tenderly. 


320 


HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 


And  then,  indeed,  she  sank  to  the  earth,  because  of  the  great 
anguish  she  suffered,  lamenting  her  Son,  whom  the  cruel  Jews 
had  murdered.1 

The  first  action  described  in  this  legend  (the  afflicted  Mother 
embracing  the   arm  of  her   Son)  is  precisely  that  which  was 


Group  from  Descent  from  Cross  (Volterra) 

adopted  by  the  Greek  masters,  and  by  the  early  Italians  who 
followed  them,    Niccolo  Pisano,  Cimabue,  Giotto,  Puccio  Ca- 

1  "  Tant  qu'il  n'y  a  cceur  si  dur,  ni  entendement  d'homme  qui  n'y  deust 
penser.  'Lasse,  mon  confort !  m'amour  et  ma  joye,  que  les  Juifz  ont  faict 
mourir  a,  grand  tort  et  sans  cause  pour  ce  qu'il  leur  monstrait  leurs  faultes  et 
enseignoit  leur  saulvement!  0  felons  et  mauvais  Juifz,  ne  m'epargnez  pas! 
puisque  vous  crucifiez  mon  enfant  crucitiez  moy  —  moy  qui  suis  sadolente  mere, 
et  me  tuez  d'aucune  mort  affin  que  je  meure  avec  luy !  '  "  Vide  the  old 
French  legend,  Vie  de  Notre  Dame  la  glorieuse  Vierge  Marie.  [Rendered 
into  English:  So  that  there  is  no  heart  so  hard,  nor  mind  of  man  but  that 
must  needs  think  of  it.  "Woe  is  me,  my  comfort!  my  love,  and  my  joy,  whom 
the  Jews  have  wrongly  put  to  death  for  no  other  reason  than  that  he  showed 
them  their  faults  and  taught  them  salvation  !  O  wicked  and  cruel  Jews,  do  not 
spare  me!  since  you  crucify  my  child,  crucify  me  — me  his  sorrowing  mother, 
and  kill  me  by  any  death  so  that  I  ma}'  die  with  him !  " 


THE    DEPOSITION 


321 


Deposition  (Raphael) 


panna,  Duccio  di  Siena,  and  others  from  the  thirteenth  to  the 
fifteenth  century.  But  in  later  pictures,  the  Virgin  in  the 
extremity  of  her  grief  has  sunk  to  the  ground.  In  an  altar- 
piece  by  Cigoli,  she  is  seated  on  the  earth,  looking  out  of  the 
picture,  as  if  appealing,  "Was  ever  sorrow  like  unto  my  sor- 
row ? "  while  the  crown  of  thorns  lies  before  her.  This  is 
very  beautiful ;  but  even  more  touching  is  the  group  in  the 
famous  "  Descent  from  the  Cross,"  the  masterpiece  of  Daniel 
di  Volterra  (Rome,  Trinity,  de' Monti)  :  here  the  fainting  form 
of  the  Virgin,  extended  on  the  earth,  and  the  dying  anguish 
in  her  face,  have  never  been  exceeded,  and  are,  in  fact,  the 
chief  merit  of  the  picture.  In  the  famous  Descent  at  Antwerp, 
the  masterpiece  of  Rubens,  Mary  stands,  and  supports  the  arm 
of  her  Sou  as  lie  is  let  down  from  the  cross.  This  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  ancienl  version;  but  her  face  and  figure  are  the 
least  effective  part  of  this  fine  picture. 

In   a  beautiful  small    composition,   a   print,   attributed    to 
Albert  Diirer.  there  me  only  three  figures.     Joseph  of  Arima- 


322  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

thea  stands  on  a  ladder,  and  detaches  from  the  cross  the  dead 
form  of  the  Saviour,  who  is  received  into  the  arms  of  his  Mother. 
This  is  a  form  of  the  Mater  Dolorosa  which  is  very  uncom- 
mon, and  must  he  regarded  as  exceptional  and  ideal,  unless  we 
are  to  consider  it  as  a  study  and  an  incomplete  group. 

The  Deposition  is  properly  that  moment  which  succeeds 
the  Descent  from  the  Cross ;  when  the  dead  form  of  Christ  is 
deposed  or  laid  upon  the  ground,  resting  on  the  lap  of  his 
Mother,  and  lamented  by  St.  John,  the  Magdalene,  and  others. 
The  ideal  and  devotional  form  of  this  subject,  styled  a  Pieta, 
may  be  intended  to  represent  one  of  those  festivals  of  the  Pas- 
sion Week  which  commemorate  the  participation  of  the  holy 
Virgin  Mother  in  the  sufferings  of  her  Son.1  I  have  already 
spoken  at  length  of  this  form  of  the  Mater  Dolorosa ;  the  his- 
torical version  of  the  same  subject  is  what  we  have  now  to 
consider,  but  only  so  far  as  regards  the  figure  of  the  Virgin. 

In  a  Deposition  thus  dramatically  treated  there  are  always 
from  four  to  six  or  eight  figures.  The  principal  group  consists 
of  the  dead  Saviour  and  his  Mother.  She  generally  holds  him 
embraced,  or  bends  over  him  contemplating  his  dead  face,  or 
lays  her  cheek  to  his  with  an  expression  of  unutterable  grief 
and  love  :  in  the  antique  conception  she  is  generally  fainting ; 
the  insensibility,  the  sinking  of  the  whole  frame  through  grief, 
which  in  the  Crucifixion  is  misplaced,  both  in  regard  to  the 
religious  feeling  and  the  old  tradition,  is  here  quite  proper.2 
Thus  she  appears  in  the  genuine  Greek  and  Greco-Italian  pro- 
ductions of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  as  well  as 
in  the  two  finest  examples  that  could  be  cited  in  more  modern 
times. 

1.  In  an  exquisite  composition  by  Raphael,  usually  styled  a 
Pieta,  but  properly  a  Deposition,  there  are  six  figures ;  the 
extended  form  of  Christ  ;  the  Virgin  swooning  in  the  arms  of 
Mary  Salome  and  Mary  Cleophas ;   Mary  Magdalene   sustains 

1  "C'est  ce  que  l'on  a  juge"  a  propos  d'appeler  La  Compassion  de  la  Vierge, 
autrement  Notre  Dame  de  Pitie."     Vide  Baillet,  Les  Fetes  Mobiles. 

2  The  reason  given  is  curious:  "  Perche  quando  Gesii  pareva  tormentato 
essendo  vivo,  il  dolore  si  partiva  fra  la  santissima  madre  e  lui  ;  ma  quando  poi 
egli  era  morto,  tutto  il  dolore  rimaneva  per  la  sconsolata  madre."  ("Because 
when  Jesus  appeared  suffering,  while  still  living,  the  pain  was  divided  between 
the  holy  mother  and  him  ;  but  when  he  was  dead,  all  the  pain  remained  with 
the  unhappy  mother.] 


THE   DEPOSITION 


323 


the  feet  of  Christ,  while  her  sister  Martha  raises  the  veil  of 
the  Virgin,  as  if  to  give  her  air;  St.  John  stands  by  with 
clasped  hands  ;  and  Joseph  of  Arimathea  looks  on  the  sorrow- 
ing group  with  mingled  grief  and  pity.1 

2.  Another,  an  admirable  and  celebrated  composition  by 
Annibal  Caracci,  known  as  the  four  Maries,  omits  Martha  and 
St.  John.  The  attention  of  Mary  Magdalene  is  fixed  on  the 
dead  Saviour;  the  other  two  Maries  are  occupied  by  the 
fainting  Mother.  (Castle  Howard. )  On  comparing  this  with 
Raphael's  conception,  we  find  more  of  common  nature,  quite 


Group  from  Deposition  (Perugino) 


as  much  pathos,  but  in  the  forms  less  of  that  pure  poetic  grace, 
which  softens  at  once,  and  heightens  the  tragic  effect. 

r>r.-ides  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  we  have  sometimes  Nicode- 
mus;  as  in  the  very  fine  Deposition  by  Perugino  [in  the  I'itti. 
Florence],  and  in  one,  not  less  fine,  by  Albert  Dlirer.  In  a  1  ><•]>- 
osition  by  Ambrogio  Lorenzetti,  Lazarus,  whom  Jesus  raised 
from  the  dead,  stands  near  his  sister  Martha. 

In  a  picture  by  Vandyck  [Lichtenstein,  Vienna],  the  Mother 
closes  the  eyes  of  the  dead  Redeemer :  in  a  picture  by  Rubens, 

1  [The  picture  describe'!  is  a  drawing  in  the  Louvre,  and  is  a  study  for  the 
Entombment  in  the  Borghese  Gallery,  Koine.] 


324  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

she  removes  a  thorn  from  his  wounded  brow,  —  both  natural 
and  dramatic  incidents  very  characteristic  of  these  dramatic 
painters. 

There  are  some  fine  examples  of  this  subject  in  the  old  Ger- 
man school.  In  spite  of  ungraceful  forms,  quaint  modern 
costumes,  and  worse  absurdities,  we  often  find  motifs,  unknown 
in  the  Italian  school,  most  profoundly  felt,  though  not  always 
happily  expressed.  I  remember  several  instances  in  which 
the  Madonna  does  not  sustain  her  Son  ;  but  kneeling  on  one 
side,  and  with  clasped  hands,  she  gazes  on  him  with  a  look, 
partly  of  devotion,  partly  of  resignation  ;  both  the  devotion 
and  the  resignation  predominating  over  the  maternal  grief.  I 
have  been  asked,  "  why  no  painter  has  ever  yet  represented 
the  Great  Mother  as  raising  her  hands  in  thankfulness  that  her 
Son  had  drunk  the  cup  —  had  finished  the  work  appointed  for 
him  on  earth  ?  "  This  would  have  been  worthy  of  the  religious 
significance  of  the  moment ;  and  I  recommend  the  theme  to 
the  consideration  of  artists.  In  the  most  modern  Deposition 
I  have  seen  (one  of  infinite  beauty  and  new  in  arrangement, 
by  Paul  Delaroche),  the  Virgin,  kneeling  at  some  distance,  and 
a  little  above,  contemplates  her  dead  Son.  The  expression 
and  attitude  are  those  of  intense  anguish,  and  only  anguish. 
It  is  the  bereaved  Mother ;  it  is  a  craving  desolation,  which  is 
in  the  highest  degree  human  and  tragic ;  but  it  is  not  the  truly 
religious  conception. 

The  Entombment  follows,  and  when  treated  as  a  strictly 
historical  scene,  the  Virgin  Mother  is  always  introduced,  though 
here  as  a  less  conspicuous  figure,  and  one  less  important  to  the 
action.  Either  she  swoons,  which  is  the  ancient  Greek  con- 
ception :  or  she  follows,  with  streaming  eyes  and  clasped  hands, 
the  pious  disciples  who  bear  the  dead  form  of  her  Son,  as  in 
Raphael's  wonderful  picture  in  the  Borghese  Palace,  and 
Titian's,  hardly  less  beautiful,  in  the  Louvre,  where  the  com- 
passionate Magdalene  sustains  her  veiled  and  weeping  figure ; 
or  she  stands  by,  looking  on  disconsolate,  while  the  beloved 
Son  is  laid  in  the  tomb. 

All  these  fine  and  important  themes  belong  properly  to  a 
series  of  the  History  of  Christ.  In  a  series  of  the  Life  of  the 
Virgin,  the  incidents  of  the  Passion  of  our  Lord  are  generally 


THE   DEPOSITION   AND   THE    ENTOMBMENT  o2o 

omitted;  whereas,  in  the  cycle  of  subjects  styled  the  Rosa  i;  v. 
the  Bearing  of  the  Cross,  the  Crucifixion,  and  the  Deposition 
are  included  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  of  the  "Sorrowful  Mys- 
teries." 'Their  frequency  as  separate  subjects,  and  the  pre- 
eminence given  to  the  figure  of  the  Virgin  as  the  Mother  of 
Pity,  are  very  suggestive  and  affecting  when  we  come  to  con- 
sider their  intention  as  well  as  their  significance.  For,  in  the 
first  place,  they  were  in  most  instances  the  votive  offerings  of 
those  who  had  lost  the  being  most  dear  to  them,  and  thus 
appealed  to  the  divine  compassion  of  her  who  had  felt  that 
sword  "  pierce  through  her  own  heart  also."  In  this  sense 
they  were  often  suspended  as  memorials  in  the  chapels  ded- 
icated to  the  dead,  of  which  I  will  cite  one  very  beautiful 
and  touching  example.  There  is  a  votive  Deposition  by 
Giottino,  in  which  the  general  conception  is  that  which  be- 
longed to  the  school,  and  very  like  Giotto's  Deposition  in  the 
Arena  at  Padua.  The  dead  Christ  is  extended  on  a  white 
shroud,  and  embraced  by  the  Virgin ;  at  his  feet  kneels  the 
Magdalene,  with  clasped  hands  and  flowing  hair ;  Mary  Salome 
kisses  one  of  his  hands,  and  Martha  (as  I  suppose)  the  other ; 
the  third  Mary,  with  long  hair,  and  head  drooping  with  grief, 
is  seated  in  front  to  the  right.  In  the  background,  in  the 
centre,  stands  St.  John,  bending  over  the  group  in  profound 
sorrow  ;  on  his  left  hand  Joseph  of  Arimathea  stands  with 
the  vase  of  "spices  and  ointments,"  and  the  nails;  near  him 
Nicodemus.  On  the  right  of  St.  John  kneels  a  beautiful 
young  girl,  in  the  rich  Florentine  costume,  who,  with  a  sor- 
rowful earnestness  and  with  her  hands  crossed  over  her  bosom, 
contemplates  the  dead  Saviour.  St.  Romeo  (or  San  Remigio) 
patron  of  the  church  in  which  the  picture  was  dedicated,  lays 
his  hand  paternally  on  her  head;  beside  her  kneels  a  Benedic- 
tine nun,  who  in  the  same  manner  is  presented  by  St.  Bene- 
dict. These  two  females,  sisters,  perhaps,  are  the  bereaved 
mourners  who  dedicated  the  picture,  certainly  one  of  the  finest 
of  the  Giottesque  school.1     (Uffizi,  Florence.) 

Secondly,  we  find    that   the  associations   left  in  the  minds  of 
the    people    by   the    expeditions  of    the   crusaders    and    the    pil- 

1  [The  authorship  <*f  ilii^  picture  has  excited  much  discussion.    Von  Rumohr 
assigns  it  to  Piero  Chelini,  Professor  Milanesi  to  Masn  <li  Banco,  a  painter  whose 
i  n u  i  ie  has  been  confused  with  that  of  Giottino.     For  full  discussion  of  the  subject 
rune  ami  Cavalcaselle,  History  of  Painting  in  Italy,  vol.  i.  p.  410. J 


326  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

grimages  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre  rendered  the  Deposition  and 
the  Entombment  particularly  popular  and  impressive  as  sub- 
jects of  Art,  even  down  to  a  late  period.  "  Ce  que  la  vaillante 
epe"e  des  ayeux  avait  glorieusement  defendu,  le  ciseau  des  enfans 
aimait  a  le  reproduire,  leur  piete"  k  l'honorer."  I  think  we 
may  trace  these  associations  in  many  examples,  particularly  in 
a  Deposition  by  Raphael,  of  which  there  is  a  fine  old  engrav- 
ing. Here,  in  the  centre,  stands  a  circular  building,  such  as 
the  church  at  Jerusalem  was  always  described ;  in  front  of 
which  are  seen  the  fainting  Virgin  and  the  mournful  women  ; 
a  grand  and  solemn  group,  but  poetically  rather  than  histori- 
cally treated. 

In  conclusion,  I  must  notice  one  more  form  of  the  Mater 
Dolorosa,  one  of  the  dramatic  conceptions  of  the  later  schools 
of  Art :  as  far  as  I  know,  there  exist  no  early  examples. 

In  a  picture  by  Guercino,  the  Virgin  and  St.  Peter  lament 
the  death  of  the  Saviour.  The  Mother,  with  her  clasped  hands 
resting  on  her  knees,  appears  lost  in  resigned  sorrow  ;  she  mourns 
her  Son.  Peter,  weeping  as  with  a  troubled  grief,  seems  to 
mourn  at  once  his  Lord  and  Master  and  his  own  weak  denial. 
This  picture  has  the  energetic  feeling  and  utter  want  of  poetic 
elevation  which  generally  characterized  Guercino.      (Louvre.1) 

There  is  a  similar  group  by  Ludovico  Caracci  in  the  Duomo 
at  Bologna. 

In  a  picture  by  Tiarini,  the  Madre  Addolorata  is  seated, 
holding  in  her  hand  the  crown  of  thorns  ;  Mary  Magdalene 
kneels  before  her,  and  St.  John  stands  by  —  both  expressing 
the  utmost  veneration  and  sympathy.  These  and  similar 
groups  are  especially  to  be  found  in  the  later  Bologna  school. 
In  all  the  instances  known  to  me,  they  have  been  painted  for 
the  Dominicans,  and  evidently  intended  to  illustrate  the  sor- 
rows of  the  Rosary.      [Bologna.] 

In  one  of  the  services  of  the  Passion  Week,  and  in  particu- 
lar reference  to  the  maternal  anguish  of  the  Virgin,  it  was 
usual  to  read,  as  the  Epistle,  a  selection  from  the  first  chapter 
of  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  eloquent  in  the  language  of 
desolation  and  grief.  The  painters  seemed  to  have  filled  their 
imagination  with  the  images  there  presented  ;   and  frequently 

1  [The  picture  is  not  mentioned  in  the  list  of  Guercino's  paintings  in  the 
Louvre  catalogue  of  1894.] 


THE    VIRGIN    AND   ST.    JOHN  327 

in  the  ideal  Pieta  the  daughter  of  Jerusalem  "sits  solitary. 
with  none  to  comfort  her."  It  is  the  contrary  in  the  dramatic 
version  ;  the  devotion  of  the  women,  the  solicitude  of  the  atl'ee- 
tionate  Magdalene,  and  the  filial  reverence  of  St.  John,  whom 
the  scriptural  history  associates  with  the  Virgin  in  a  manner 
so  affecting,  are  never  forgotten. 

In  obedience  to  the  last  command  of  his  dying  Master,  John 
the  Evangelist  — 

He,  into  whose  keeping,  from  the  cross, 
The  mighty  charge  was  given  — 

conducted  to  his  own  dwelling  the  Mother  to  whom  he  was 
henceforth  to  be  as  a  son.  This  beautiful  subject,  "John 
conducting  the  Virgin  to  his  home,"  was  quite  unknown,  as 
far  as  I  am  aware,  in  the  earlier  schools  of  Art,  and  appears 
first  in  the  seventeenth  century.  An  eminent  instance  is  a 
fine  solemn  group  by  Zurbaran.1  (Munich.)  Christ  was  laid 
in  the  sepulchre  by  night,  and  here,  in  the  gray  dawn.  John 
and  the  veiled  Virgin  are  seen  as  returning  from  the  entomb- 
ment, and  walking  mournfully  side  by  side. 

We  find  the  peculiar  relation  between  the  Mother  of  Christ 
and  St.  John,  as  her  adopted  son,  expressed  in  a  very  tender 
and  ideal  manner,  on  one  of  the  wings  of  an  altar-piece,  at- 
tributed to  Taddeo  Gaddi.  (Berlin  Gallery.)  Mary  and  St. 
John  stand  in  front ;  he  holds  one  of  her  hands  clasped  in 
both  his  own,  with  a  most  reverent  and  affect jonate  expression. 
Christ,  standing  between  them,  lays  one  hand  on  the  shoulder 
of  each  :  the  sentiment  of  this  group  is  altogether  very  un- 
usual, and  very  remarkable. 

l  [The  work  referred  to  is  probably  the  painting  catalogued  as  the  production 
of  Francisco  Kibalta.l 


328  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 


PART  IV.  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  VIRGIN  MARY  FROM 
THE  RESURRECTION  OF  OUR  LORD  TO  THE  AS- 
SUMPTION 

The  Apparition  of  Christ  to  his  Mother 

The  enthusiastic  and  increasing  veneration  for  the  Madonna, 
the  large  place  she  filled  in  the  religious  teaching  of  the  ecclesi- 
astics and  the  religious  sentiments  of  the  people,  are  nowhere 
more  apparent,  nor  more  strikingly  exhibited,  than  in  the  man- 
ner in  which  she  was  associated  with  the  scenes  which  followed 
the  Passion  —  the  manner  in  which  some  incidents  were  sug- 
gested, and  treated  with  a  peculiar  reference  to  her,  and  to  her 
maternal  feelings.  It  is  nowhere  said  that  the  Virgin-mother 
was  one  of  the  Maries  who  visited  the  tomb  on  the  morning 
of  the  resurrection,  and  nowhere  is  she  so  represented.  But 
out  of  the  human  sympathy  with  that  bereaved  and  longing 
heart  arose  the  beautiful  legend  of  the  interview  between 
Christ  and  his  Mother  after  he  had  risen  from  the  dead. 

There  existed  a  very  ancient  tradition  (it  is  mentioned  by 
St.  Ambrose  in  the  fourth  century,  as  being  then  generally  ac- 
cepted by  Christians),  that  Christ,  after  his  return  from  Hades, 
visited  his  Mother,  even  before  he  appeared  to  Mary  Magda- 
lene in  the  garden.  It  is  not  indeed  so  written  in  the  Gospel ; 
but  what  of  that  ?  The  reasoning  which  led  to  the  conclu- 
sion was  very  simple.  He  whose  last  earthly  thought  was  for 
his  Mother  would  not  leave  her  without  that  consolation  it  was 
in  his  power  to  give  ;  and  what,  as  a  son,  it  was  his  duty  to 
do  (for  the  humanity  of  Christ  is  never  forgotten  by  those  who 
most  intensely  believed  in  his  diviniti/),  that,  of  course,  he 
did  do. 

The  story  is  thus  related :  Mary,  when  all  was  "  finished," 
retired  to  her  chamber,  and  remained  alone  with  her  grief  —  not 
wailing,  not  repining,  not  hopeless,  but  waiting  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  promise.  Open  before  her  lay  the  volume  of  the 
prophecies ;  and  she  prayed  earnestly,  and  she  said,  "  Thou 
didst  promise,  0  my  most  dear  Son  !  that  thou  wouldst  rise 
again  on  the  third  day.  Before  yesterday  was  the  day  of  dark- 
ness and  bitterness,  and,  behold,  this  is  the  third  day.     Return 


THE   APPARITION   OF   CHRIST   TO   HIS   MOTHER         329 

then  to  me  thy  Mother  ;  0  my  Son,  tarry  not,  but  come  ! " 
And  while  thus  she  prayed,  lo  !  a  bright  company  of  angels, 
who  entered  waving  their  palms  and  radiant  with  joy;  and 
they  surrounded  her,  kneeling  and  singing  the  triumphant 
Easter  hymn,  Regina  Cceli  Icetare,  Alleluia  !  1  And  then  came 
Christ,  partly  clothed  in  a  white  garment,  having  in  his  left 
hand  the  standard  with  the  cross,  as  one  just  returned  from  the 
nether  world,  and  victorious  over  the  powers  of  sin  and  death. 
And  with  him  came  the  patriarchs  and  prophets,  whose  long- 
imprisoned  spirits  he  had  released  from  Hades.  All  these 
knelt  before  the  Virgin,  and  saluted  her,  and  blessed  her,  and 
thanked  her,  because  through  her  had  come  their  deliverance. 
But,  for  all  this,  the  Mother  was  not  comforted  till  she  had 
heard  the  voice  of  her  Son.  Then  he,  raising  his  hand  in 
benediction,  spoke,  and  said,  "  I  salute  thee,  O  my  Mother !  '; 
and  she,  weeping  tears  of  joy,  responded,  "  Is  it  thou  indeed, 
my  most  dear  Son  ?  "  and  she  fell  upon  his  neck,  and  he  cm- 
braced  her  tenderly,  and  showed  her  the  wounds  he  had  re- 
ceived for  sinful  men.  Then  he  bid  her  be  comforted  and  weep 
no  more,  for  the  pain  of  death  had  passed  away,  and  the  gates 
of  hell  had  not  prevailed  against  him.  And  she  thanked  him 
meekly  on  her  knees,  for  that  he  had  been  pleased  to  bring  re- 
demption to  man,  and  to  make  her  the  humble  instrument  of 
his  great  mercy.  And  they  sat  and  talked  together,  until  he 
took  leave  of  her  to  return  to  the  garden,  and  to  show  himself 
to  Mary  Magdalene,  who,  next  to  his  glorious  Mother,  had 
most  need  of  consolation.2 

1  Reeina  Coeli  la?tare,  Alleluia! 
Quia  quern  meruisti  portare.  Alleluia! 
Resurrexit  sieut  dixit.  Alleluia! 
Ora  pro  nobis  Deum,  Alleluia! 

2  I  have  given  the  legend  from  various  sources:  but  there  is  something  quite 
untranslatable  ami  perfectly  beautiful  in  the  naivete  of  the  old  Italian  ver- 
sion. After  describing  the  celestial  music  of  the  angels,  the  rejoicing  "f  the 
liberated  patriarchs,  and  the  appearance  of  Christ,  allegro,  e  bello  e  tutto  lucido, 
it  thus  proceeds:  "Quando  ella  lo  vidde,  gli  ando  incontro  ella  ancoraenn  le 
braccia  aperte,  e  quasi  tramortita  per  1'  allegrezzn.  II  benedelto  Gesi)  I'  abhrac- 
cio  teneressimamente,  ed  ella  gli  disse;  'Ahi,  figliuolo  mio  cordialissimo,  sei  tu 
veramente  il  mio  Gesu,  6  pur  m'  intranna  1'  affetto!  '  'To  nono  il  tuo  fiirlinoln, 
madrc  mia  dolcissima,'  disse  il  Signnre:  'cessinn  hormai  le  tue  lagrime,  non 
fare  ch1  io  ti  veda  piii  di  mala  voglia.  Gin.  son  flniti  li  tuoi  e  li  miei  travagli  e 
dolor!  insieme!  '  Erano  rima«e  alcune  lagrime  ne  gli  occhi  della  Vergine  .  .  . 
e  pel  la  grande  allegrezza  non  poteva  proferire  parola  alcuna  .  .  .  ma  quando 


330  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

The  pathetic  sentiment,  and  all  the  supernatural  and  mystical 
accompaniments  of  this  beautiful  myth  of  the  early  ages,  have 
been  very  inadequately  rendered  by  the  artists.  It  is  always 
treated  as  a  plain  matter-of-fact  scene.  The  Virgin  kneels  ; 
the  Saviour,  bearing  his  standard,  stands  before  her  ;  and  where 
the  delivered  patriarchs  are  introduced,  they  are  generally 
either  Adam  and  Eve,  the  authors  of  the  fall,  or  Abraham  and 
David,  the  progenitors  of  Christ  and  the  Virgin.  The  patri- 
archs are  omitted  in  the  earliest  instance  I  can  refer  to,  one  of 
the  carved  panels  of  the  stalls  in  the  cathedral  of  Amiens,  also 
in  the  composition  by  Albert  Dlirer,  not  included  in  his  Life 
of  the  Virgin,  but  forming  one  of  the  series  of  the  Passion. 
Guido  has  represented  the  scene  in  a  very  fine  picture,  wherein 
an  angel  bears  the  standard  of  victory,  and  behind  our  Saviour 
are  Adam  and  Eve.      (Dresden  Gallery.) 

Another  example,  by  Guercino  (cathedral,  Cento),  is  cited 
by  Goethe  as  an  instance  of  that  excellence  in  the  expression 
of  the  natural  and  domestic  affections  which  characterized  the 
painter.  Mary  kneels  before  her  Son,  looking  up  in  his  face 
with  unutterable  affection ;  he  regards  her  with  a  calm,  sad 
look,  "  as  if  within  his  noble  soul  there  still  remained  the 
recollection  of  his  suffering  and  hers,  outliving  the  pangs  of 
death,  the  descent  into  the  grave,  and  which  the  resurrection 
had  not  yet  dispelled."  This,  however,  is  not  the  sentiment, 
at  once  affectionate  and  joyously  triumphant,  of  the  old  legend. 
I  was  pleased  with  a  little  picture  in  the  Lichtenstein  Gallery 
at  Vienna,  where  the  risen  Saviour,  standing  before  his  Mother, 
points  to  the  page  of  the  book  before  her,  as  if  he  said,  "  See 
you  not  that  thus  it  is  written  ?"  (Luke  xxiv.  46.)  Behind 
Jesus  is  St.  John  the  Evangelist  bearing  the  cup  and  the  cross, 
as  the  cup  of  sorrow  and  the  cross  of  pain,  not  the  mere  em- 
la  fine  pote  parlare,  lo  ringrazio  per  parte  di  turto  il  genere  humano,  per  la  re- 
denzione,  operatae  fatta,  pertuttogeneralmente."  Vide  II Perfetto  Legendario. 
[When  she  saw  him,  she  came  to  meet  him  with  arms  open  and  almost  stunned 
with  joy.  The  blessed  Jesus  embraced  her  most  tenderly,  and  she  said  to  him, 
"Ah,  my  most  beloved  Son,  art  thou  truly  my  Jesus,  or  does  love  deceive  me!  " 
"I  am  thy  son,  my  sweetest  mother,"  said  the  Lord  :  "Let  your  tears  cease 
from  this  moment,  let  nothing  grieve  me  in  seeing  you.  Thy  labors  and  suffer- 
ings and  mine  also  are  both  ended."  Some  tears  remained  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Virgin  .  .  .  and  she  was  unable  to  speak  a  word  for  her  great  joy  .  .  .  but 
when  at  last  she  could  speak,  she  thanked  him  in  behalf  of  all  the  human  race 
for  the  redemption,  performed  and  fulfilled  for  all  the  world.] 


THE   APPARITION  OF   CHRIST   TO   HIS   MOTHER        331 


Christ  appearing  to  his  Mother  (Albert  Diirer) 

blems.  There  is  another  example,  by  one  of  the  Caracci,  in 
the  Fitzwilliam  collection  at  Cambridge. 

A  picture  by  Albano  of  this  subject,  in  which  Christ  comes 
flying  or  floating  on  the  air,  like  an  incorporeal  being,  sur- 
rounded by  little  fluttering  cherubim,  very  much  like  Cupids, 
is  an  example  of  all  that  is  most  false  and  objectionable  in  feel- 
ing and  treatment.      (Pitti,  Florence.) 

The  popularity  of  this  scene  in  the  Bologna  school  of  art 
arose,  I  think,  from  its  being  adopted  as  one  of  the  subjects 
from  the  Kosary,  the  first  of  "the  five  Glorious  Mysteries;" 
therefore  especially  affected  by  the  Dominicans,  the  great  pa- 
trons of  the  Caracci  at  that  time. 


.332  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

The  Ascension,  though  one  of  the  "  Glorious  Mysteries," 
was  also  accounted  as  the  seventh  and  last  of  the  sorrows 
of  the  Virgin,  for  she  was  then  left  alone  on  earth.  All 
the  old  legends  represent  her  as  present  on  this  occasion,  and 
saying  as  she  followed  with  uplifted  eyes  the  soaring  figure  of 
Christ,.  "  My  Son,  remember  me  when  thou  comest  to  thy 
kingdom  !  leave  me  not  long  after  thee,  my  Son  !  "  In  Giotto's 
composition  in  the  chapel  of  the  Arena,  at  Padua,  she  is  by  far 
the  most  prominent  figure.  In  almost  all  the  late  pictures  of 
the  Ascension,  she  is  introduced  with  the  other  Maries,  kneel- 
ing on  one  side,  or  placed  in  the  centre  among  the  apostles. 

The  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  a  strictly  scriptural 
subject.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  the  introduction  of  Mary 
was  not  authorized  by  the  scripture  narrative.  I  must  observe, 
however,  that,  without  any  wringing  of  the  text  for  an  especial 
purpose,  the  passage  might  be  so  interpreted.  In  the  first 
chapter  of  the  Acts  (ver.  14),  after  enumerating  the  apostles 
by  name,  it  is  added,  "  These  all  continued  with  one  accord  in 
prayer  and  supplication,  with  the  women  and  Mary  the  mother 
of  Jesus,  and  with  his  brethren."  And  in  the  commencement 
of  the  second  chapter  the  narrative  thus  proceeds :  "  And  when 
the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come,  they  were  all  with  one 
accord  in  one  place."  The  word  all  is,  in  the  Concordance, 
referred  to  the  previous  text  (ver.  14),  as  including  Mary  and 
the  women  :  thus  they  who  were  constant  in  their  love  were 
not  refused  a  participation  in  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit.  Mary, 
in  her  character  of  the  divine  Mother  of  Wisdom,  or  even 
Wisdom  herself,1  did  not,  perhaps,  need  any  accession  of  intel- 
lectual light ;  but  we  must  remember  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
the  Comforter  as  well  as  the  giver  of  Wisdom  ;  therefore, 
equally  needed  by  those,  whether  men  or  women,  who  were 
all  equally  called  upon  to  carry  out  the  ministry  of  Christ  in 
love  and  service,  in  doing  and  in  suffering. 

In  the  account  of  the  apostles  [Sacred  and  Legendary  Art], 
I  have  already  described  at  length  the  various  treatment  and 
most  celebrated  examples  of  this  subject,  and  shall  only  make 
one  or  two  observations  with  especial  reference  to  the  figure 
of  the  Virgin.     It  was  in  accordance  with   the  feelings  and 

l  The  sublime  eulogium  of  Wisdom  (Prov.  viii.)  is,  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  applied  to  the  Virgin  Mary. 


THE  DESCENT  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST 


333 


w  $  *M 


Descent  of  the  Holv  Ghost 


convictions  prevalent  in  the  fifteenth  century,  that  if  Mary 
were  admitted  to  be  present,  she  would  take  the  principal 
place,  as  Queen  and  Mother  of  the  Apostles  (Regina  et  Mater 
Apostolorum).  She  is,  therefore,  usually  placed  either  in  front, 
or  in  the  centre  on  a  raised  seat  or  dais  ;  and  often  holding  a 
book  (as  the  Mater  Sapiential)  ;  and  she  receives  the  divine 
effusion  either  with  veiled  lids  and  meek  rejoicing ;  or  with 
uplifted  eyes,  as  one  inspired,  she  pours  forth  the  hymn,  Veni, 
Sancte  Spiritus. 

I  agree  with  the  critics  that,  as  the  Spirit  descended  in  form 
of  cloven  tongues  of  fire,  the  emblem  of  the  Dove,  almost 
always  introduced,  is  here  superfluous,  and,  indeed,  out  of 
place. 

I  must  mention  here  another  subject  altogether  apocryphal, 
nnd  confined  to  the  late  Spanish  and  Italian  schools:  the  Vir- 
gin receives  the  sacramental  wafer  from  the  hand  of  St.  John 
the  Evangelist.     This  is  frequently  misunderstood,  and  styled 


334  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

the  Communion  of  Mary  Magdalene.  But  the  long  hair  and 
uncovered  head  of  the  Magdalene  and  the  episcopal  robe  of 
St.  Maximin  are  in  general  distinguishable  from  the  veiled 
matronly  head  of  the  Virgin-mother  and  the  deacon's  vest  of 
St.  John.  There  is  also  a  legend  that  Mary  received  baptism 
from  St.  Peter  ;  but  this  is  a  subject  I  have  never  met  with  in 
Art,  ancient  or  modern.     It  may  possibly  exist. 

I  am  not  acquainted  with  any  representations  taken  from 
the  sojourn  on  earth  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  from  this  time  to 
the  period  of  her  death,  the  date  of  which  is  uncertain.  It  is, 
however,  generally  supposed  to  have  taken  place  in  the  forty- 
eighth  year  of  our  era,  and  about  eleven  years  after  the  Cruci- 
fixion, therefore  in  her  sixtieth  year.  There  is  no  distinct 
record,  either  historical  or  legendary,  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  she  passed  these  years.  There  are,  indeed,  floating  tra- 
ditions alluded  to  by  the  early  theological  writers,  that  when 
the  first  persecution  broke  out  at  Jerusalem,  Mary  accompanied 
St.  John  the  Evangelist  to  Ephesus,  and  was  attended  thither 
by  the  faithful  and  affectionate  Mary  Magdalene.  Also  that 
she  dwelt  for  some  time  on  Mount  Carmel,  in  an  oratory 
erected  there  by  the  prophet  Elijah,  and  hence  became  the 
patroness  of  the  Carmelites,  under  the  title  of  Our  Lady  of 
Mount  Carmel  {La  Madonna  del  Carmine  or  del  Carmelo). 
If  there  exist  any  creations  of  the  artists  founded  on  these 
obscure  traditions,  which  is  indeed  most  probable,  particularly 
in  the  edifices  of  the  Carmelites  in  Spain,  I  have  not  met  with 
them. 

It  is  related  that  before  the  apostles  separated  to  obey  the 
command  of  their  divine  Master,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  they  took  a  solemn  leave  of  the  Vir- 
gin Mary,  and  received  her  blessing.  This  subject  has  been 
represented,  though  not  by  any  distinguished  artist.  I  remem- 
ber such  a  picture,  apparently  of  the  sixteenth  century,  in  the 
church  of  S.  Maria-in-Capitolio  at  Cologne,  and  another,  by 
Bissoni,  in  the  S.  Giustina  at  Padua. 


THE   DEATH   AND   ASSUMPTION   OF   THE   VIRGIN        335 

The  Death  and  Assumption  of  the  Virgin 

Lat.  Dormitio,  Pausatio,  Transitus,  Assumptio,  B.  Virginis.  Ital. 
II  Transito  di  Maria.  II  Sonno  della  Beata  Virgine.  L'Assun- 
zione.  Fr.  La  Mort  de  la  Vierge.  L'Assomption.  Ger.  Das 
Absterben  der  Maria.     Maria  Himmelfahrt.     (August  13,  15.) 

We  approach  the  closing  scenes. 

Of  all  the  representations  consecrated  to  the  glory  of  the 
Virgin,  none  have  been  more  popular,  more  multiplied  through 
every  form  of  Art,  and  more  admirably  treated,  than  her  death 
and  apotheosis.  The  latter  in  particular,  under  the  title  of  the 
"  Assumption,"  became  the  visible  expression  of  a  dogma  of 
faith  then  universally  received  —  namely,  the  exaltation  and 
deification  of  the  Virgin  in  the  body  as  well  as  in  the  spirit. 
As  such  it  meets  us  at  every  turn  in  the  edifices  dedicated  to 
her  ;  in  painting  over  the  altar,  in  sculpture  over  the  portal, 
or  gleaming  upon  us  in  light  from  the  shining  many-colored 
windows.  Sometimes  the  two  subjects  are  combined,  and  the 
death-scene  (II  Transito  di  Maria)  figured  below,  is,  in  fact, 
only  the  transition  to  the  blessedness  and  exaltation  figured 
above.  But  whether  separate  or  combined,  the  two  scenes,  in 
themselves  most  beautiful  and  touching  —  the  extremes  of  the 
mournful  and  the  majestic  —  the  dramatic  and  the  ideal  — 
offered  to  the  mediaeval  artists  such  a  breadth  of  space  for  the 
exhibition  of  feeling  and  fancy  as  no  other  subject  afforded. 
Consequently,  among  the  examples  handed  down  to  us,  are  to 
be  found  some  of  the  most  curious  and  important  relics  of  the 
early  schools,  while  others  rank  among  the  grandest  productions 
of  the  best  ages  of  art. 

For  the  proper  understanding  of  these,  it  is  necessary  to 
give  the  old  apocryphal  legend  at  some  length  ;  for,  although 
the  very  curious  and  extravagant  details  of  this  legend  were 
not  authorized  by  the  Church  as  matters  of  fact  or  faith,  it 
is  clear  that  the  artists  were  permitted  thence  to  derive  their 
materials  and  their  imagery.  In  what  manner  they  availed 
themselves  of  this  permission,  ami  how  far  the  wildly  poeti- 
cal circumstances  with  which  the  old  tradition  was  gradually 
invested  were  allowed  to  enter  into  the  forms  of  Art,  we  shall 
afterwards  consider. 


336  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

The  Legend  of  the  Death  and  Assumption  of  the 
most  Glorious  Virgin  Mary 

Mary  dwelt  in  the  house  of  John  upon  Mount  Sion,  look- 
ing for  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  of  deliverance  ;  and  she 
spent  her  days  in  visiting  those  places  which  had  been  hal- 
lowed by  the  baptism,  the  sufferings,  the  burial,  and  resurrec- 
tion of  her  divine  Son,  but  more  particularly  the  tomb  wherein 
he  was  laid.  And  she  did  not  this  as  seeking  the  living 
among  the  dead,  but  for  consolation  and  for  remembrance. 

And  on  a  certain  day,  the  heart  of  the  Virgin,  being  filled 
with  an  inexpressible  longing  to  behold  her  Son,  melted  away 
within  her,  and  she  wept  abundantly.  And,  lo !  an  angel 
appeared  before  her  clothed  in  light  as  with  a  garment.  And 
he  saluted  her,  and  said,  "  Hail,  0  Mary  !  blessed  by  him  who 
hath  given  salvation  to  Israel !  I  bring  thee  here  a  branch  of 
palm  gathered  in  Paradise  ;  command  that  it  be  carried  before 
thy  bier  in  the  day  of  thy  death ;  for  in  three  days  thy  soul 
shall  leave  thy  body,  and  thou  shalt  enter  into  Paradise,  where 
thy  Son  awaits  thy  coming."  Mary,  answering,  said,  "  If  I 
have  found  grace  in  thy  eyes,  tell  me  first  what  is  thy  name ; 
and  grant  that  the  apostles  my  brethren  may  be  reunited  to 
me  before  I  die,  that  in  their  presence  I  may  give  up  my  soul 
to  God.  Also,  I  pray  thee,  that  my  soul,  when  delivered  from 
my  body,  may  not  be  affrighted  by  any  spirit  of  darkness,  nor 
any  evil  angel  be  allowed  to  have  any  power  over  me."  And 
the  angel  said,  "  Why  dost  thou  ask  my  name  ?  My  name  is 
the  Great  and  the  Wonderful.  And  now  doubt  not  that  all 
the  apostles  shall  be  reunited  to  thee  this  day  ;  for  he  who  in 
former  times  transported  the  prophet  Habakkuk  from  Judea 
to  Jerusalem  by  the  hair  of  his  head,  can  as  easily  bring  hither 
the  apostles.  And  fear  thou  not  the  evil  spirit,  for  hast  thou 
not  bruised  his  head  and  destroyed  his  kingdom  ?  ';  And 
having  said  these  words,  the  angel  departed  into  heaven ;  and 
the  palm  branch  which  he  had  left  behind  him  shed  light  from 
every  leaf,  and  sparkled  as  the  stars  of  the  morning.  Then 
Mary  lighted  the  lamps  and  prepared  her  bed,  and  waited 
until  the  hour  was  come.  And  in  the  same  instant  John,  who 
was  preaching  at  Ephesus,  and  Peter,  who  was  preaching  at 
Antioch,  and  all  the  other  apostles,  who  were  dispersed  in 
different  parts  of  the  world,  were  suddenly  caught  up  as  by  a 


THE   DEATH   AND   ASSUMPTION   OF  THE   VIRGIN        337 

miraculous  power,  and  found  themselves  hefore  the  door  of 
the  habitation  of  Mary.  "When  Mary  saw  them  all  assembled 
round  her,  she  blessed  and  thanked  the  Lord,  and  she  placed 
in  the  hands  of  St.  John  the  shining  palm,  and  desired  that 
he  should  bear  it  before  her  at  the  time  of  her  burial.  Then 
Mary,  kneeling  down,  made  her  prayer  to  the  Lord  her  Son, 
and  the  others  prayed  with  her ;  then  she  laid  herself  down  in 
her  bed  and  composed  herself  for  death.  And  John  wept  bit- 
terly. And  about  the  third  hour  of  the  night,  as  Peter  stood 
at  the  head  of  the  bed  and  John  at  the  foot,  and  the  other 
apostles  around,  a  mighty  sound  tilled  the  house,  and  a  deli- 
cious perfume  filled  the  chamber.  And  Jesus  himself  appeared 
accompanied  by  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  patriarchs, 
and  prophets ;  all  these  surrounded  the  bed  of  the  Virgin, 
singing  hymns  of  joy.  And  Jesus  said  to  his  mother,  "  Arise, 
my  beloved,  mine  elect !  come  with  me  from  Lebanon,  my 
espoused  !  receive  the  crown  that  is  destined  for  thee  !  "  And 
Mary,  answering,  said,  "  My  heart  is  ready  ;  for  it  was  written 
of  me  that  I  should  do  thy  will  !  "  Then  all  the  angels  and 
blessed  spirits  who  accompanied  Jesus  began  to  sing  and  re- 
joice. And  the  soul  of  Mary  left  her  body,  and  was  received 
into  the  arms  of  her  Son,  and  together  they  ascended  into 
heaven.1  And  the  apostles  looked  up,  saying,  "  0  most  pru- 
dent Virgin,  remember  us  when  thou  comest  to  glory !  "  and 
the  angels  who  received  her  into  heaven  sang  these  words, 
"Who  is  this  that  cometh  up  from  the  wilderness  leaning 
upon  her  Beloved  ?  she  is  fairer  than  all  the  daughters  of 
Jerusalem." 

But  the  body  of  Mary  remained  upon  the  earth ;  and  three 
among  the  virgins  prepared  to  wash  and  cloth  it  in  a  shroud ; 
but  such  a  glory  of  light  surrounded  her  form,  that  though 
they  touched  it  they  could  not  see  it,  and  no  human  eye  be- 
held  those   chaste   and    sacred    limbs   unclothed.       Then   the 

1  In  the  later  French  legend,  it  is  the  angel  Michael  who  takes  charge  of  the 
departing  soul.  "  Ecce  Dominus  venit  cum  multitudine  anyelorum;  et.Trsus- 
< 'hrist  vint  en  grande  compaignie  d'anges;  entre  lesquels  estoit  Sainct  Michel, 
et  quand  la  Vierge  Marie  le  veit  elle  dit,  '  Benoist  soit  Jesus-Christ  car  il  ne  m'a 
posoubltee.'  Quand  elleeutce  dit  elle  rendit  l'esprit,  lequel  Sainct  Michel  print." 
[Behold  the  Lord  came  with  a  host  of  angels;  and  Jesus  Christ  came  with  a 
great  company  of  angels,  among  whom  was  St.  Michael;  and  when  the  Virgin 
Mary  saw  him,  she  said  "  Blessed  be  .Jesus  ( 'lirist,  for  he  has  not  forgotten  me." 
When  she  had  said  this,  she  gave  up  her  spirit,  which  Saint  Michael  took.] 


338  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

apostles  took  her  up  reverently  and  placed  her  upon  a  bier,  and 
John,  carrying  the  celestial  palm,  went  hefore.  Peter  sang 
the  114th  Psalm,  "  In  exitu  Israel  de  Egypto,  domus  Jacob  de 
populo  barbaro,"  and  the  angels  followed  after,  also  singing. 
The  wicked  Jews,  hearing  these  melodious  voices,  ran  together  ; 
and  the  high  priest,  being  seized  with  fury,  laid  his  hands  upon 
the  bier  intending  to  overturn  it  on  the  earth ;  but  both  his 
arms  were  suddenly  dried  up,  so  that  he  could  not  move  them, 
and  he  was  overcome  with  fear ;  and  he  prayed  to  St.  Peter 
for  help,  and  Peter  said,  "Have  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  his 
Mother,  and  thou  shalt  be  healed ;  "  and  it  was  so.  Then 
they  went  on  and  laid  the  Virgin  in  a  tomb  in  the  Valley  of 
Jehoshaphat.1 

And  on  the  third  day,  Jesus  said  to  the  angels,  "What 
honor  shall  I  confer  on  her  who  was  my  mother  on  earth, 
and  brought  me  forth  ?  "  And  they  answered,  "  Lord,  suffer 
not  that  body  which  was  thy  temple  and  thy  dwelling  to  see 
corruption;  but  place  her  beside  thee  on  thy  throne  in 
heaven."  And  Jesus  consented ;  and  the  Archangel  Michael 
brought  unto  the  Lord  the  glorious  soul  of  our  Lady.  And 
the  Lord  said,  "  Rise  up,  my  dove,  my  undefiled,  for  thou  shalt 
not  remain  in  the  darkness  of  the  grave,  nor  shalt  thou  see 
corruption  ;  "  and  immediately  the  soul  of  Mary  rejoined  her 
body,  and  she  arose  up  glorious  from  the  tomb,  and  ascended 
into  heaven  surrounded  and  welcomed  by  troops  of  angels, 
blowing  their  silver  trumpets,  touching  their  golden  lutes, 
singing,  and  rejoicing  as  they  sang,  "Who  is  she  that  looketh 
forth  as  the  morning,  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and 
terrible  as  an  army  with  banners  ?  "      (Cant.  vi.  10.) 

But  one  among  the  apostles  was  absent ;  and  when  he  ar- 
rived, soon  after,  he  would  not  believe  in  the  resurrection  of 
the  Virgin ;  and  this  apostle  was  the  same  Thomas  who  had 
formerly  been  slow  to  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord ; 
and  he  desired  that  the  tomb  should  be  opened  before  him; 
and  when  it  was  opened  it  was  found  to  be  full  of  lilies  and 
roses.  Then  Thomas,  looking  up  to  heaven,  beheld  the  Vir- 
gin bodily,  in  a  glory  of  light,  slowly  mounting  towards  heaven  : 
and   she,  for   the  assurance  of  his  faith,  flung  down   to   him 

1  Or  Gethsemane.  I  must  observe  here,  that  in  the  genuine  oriental  legend, 
it  is  Michael  the  Archangel  who  hews  off  the  hands  of  the  audacious  Jew,  which 
were  afterwards,  at  the  intercession  of  St.  Peter,  reunited  to  his  body. 


THE    DEATH   AND    ASSUMPTION    OF   THE   VIRGIN        339 


her  girdle,  the  same 
■which  is  to  this  day 
preserved  in  the  cathe- 
dral at  Prato.  And 
there  were  present  at 
the  death  of  the  Vir- 
gin Mary,  besides  the 
twelve  apostles,  Diony- 
sius  the  Areopagite, 
Timotheus,  and  Hier- 
otheus ;  and  of  the  wo- 
men, Mary  Salome, 
Mary  Cleophas,1  and 
a  faithful  handmaid 
whose  name  was  Savia. 

This  legend  of  the 
Death  and  Assumption 
of  the  Virgin  has  af- 
forded to  the  artists 
seven  distinct  scenes. 

1.  The  Angel,  bear- 
ing the  palm,  announces 
to  Mary  her  approaching  Death  The  announcing  angel  is 
usually  supposed  to  be  Gabriel,  but  it  is  properly  Michael, 
"  the  angel  of  death."  2.  She  takes  leave  of  the  Apostles. 
3.  Her  Death.  4.  She  is  borne  to  the  Sepulchre.  5.  Her 
Entombment.  6.  Her  Assumption,  where  she  rises  triumphant 
and  glorious,  "like  unto  the  morning"  {quasi  aurora  con- 
surgens).  7.  Her  Coronation  in  heaven,  where  she  takes  her 
place  beside  her  Son. 

In  early  Art,  particularly  in  the  Gothic  sculpture,  two  or 
more  of  these  subjects  are  generally  grouped  together.  Some- 
times we  have  the  death-scene  and  the  entombment  on  a  line 
below,  and,  above  these,  the  coronation  or  the  assumption,  as 
over  the  portal  of  Notre  Dame  at  Paris,  and  in  many  other 
instances;  or  we  have  first  her  death,  above  this  her  assump- 
tion, and,  above  all,  her  coronation ;  as  over  the  portal  at 
Amiens  and  elsewhere. 


Angel  announcing  to  the  Virgin  her  approach- 
ing Death  (Orcagna) 


1  According  to  the  French  legend,  Mary  Magdalene  and  her  sister  Martha 
were  also  present 


340  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

I  shall  now  take  these  subjects  in  their  order. 

The  Angel  announcing  to  Mary  her  approaching 
Death  has  been  rarely  treated.  In  general,  Mary  is  seated 
or  standing,  and  the  angel  kneels  before  her,  bearing  the  starry 
palm  brought  from  Paradise.  In  the  frescoes  at  Orvieto,  and 
in  the  bas-relief  of  Orcagna,  on  the  beautiful  shrine  in  Or 
San  Michele,  at  Florence,  the  angel  comes  flying  downwards 
with  the  palm.  In  the  next  sketch,  which  is  from  a  predella 
by  Fra  Filippo  Lippi   [in  the  Florence  Academy],   the  angel 


Angel  announcing  to  the  Virgin  her  approaching  Death  (Filippo  Lippi) 

kneels,  reverently  presenting  a  taper,  which  the  Virgin  receives 
with  majestic  grace ;  St.  Peter  stands  behind.  It  was  the 
custom  to  place  a  taper  in  the  hand  of  a  dying  person ;  and 
as  the  palm  is  also  given  sometimes  to  the  angel  of  the  incar- 
nation, while  the  taper  can  have  but  one  meaning,  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  scene  is  here  fixed  beyond  the  possibility  of 
mistake,  though  there  is  a  departure  from  the  literal  details 
of  the  old  legend.  The  predella  belongs  properly  to  the  great 
altar-piece  by  Fra  Filippo  Lippi,  now  in  the  Louvre,  and  for- 


THE   DEATH   AND   ASSUMPTION    OF   THE   VIRGIN        341 

merly  in  the  S.  Spirito  at  Florence.  In  the  original  composi- 
tion we  see  the  miraculous  assemblage  of  the  Apostles ;  Peter 
is  entering  at  the  door,  and  the  others,  conducted  by  angels, 
are  entering  the  portico  behind  the  Virgin.  (In  the  catalogue 
it  is  called  The  Annunciation,  which  is  a  mistake.)  On  one 
side  of  this  subject  we  have  the  vision  of  the  Trinity  appearing 
to  St.  Gregory  Thaumaturgus,  and  on  the  other,  St.  Frediano 
turning  the  course  of  the  Serchio,  both  of  whom  were  Augus- 
tins,  to  which  Order  the  church  of  the  S.  Spirito  belongs,  and 
these  are  probably  the  two  saints  (called  in  the  French  cata- 
logue "  deux  saints  eVeques  ")  who  are  kneeling  in  front  of 
the  grand  picture  in  the  Louvre.  This  is  one  of  many  in- 
stances in  which  the  separation  of  the  parts  of  an  altar-piece 
becomes  a  source  of  embarrassment  to  the  critic  and  anti- 
quary. These  "  deux  saints  e'veques  "  were  a  great  vexation 
to  me  till  I  found  the  predella  of  the  altar  at  Florence.  There 
is  in  the  Munich  Gallery  a  curious  German  example  of  the 
subject  [of  the  angel  announcing  to  Mary  her  approaching 
death]  by  Hans  Schaufelein. 

The  Death  of  the  Virgin  is  styled  in  Byzantine  and 
old  Italian  Art  the  Sleep  of  the  Virgin,  II  Sonno  della  Ma- 
donna ;  for  it  was  an  old  superstition,  subsequently  rejected  as 
heretical,  that  she  did  not  really  die  after  the  manner  of  com- 
mon mortals,  only  fell  asleep  till  her  resurrection.  Therefore, 
perhaps,  it  is,  that  in  the  early  pictures  we  have  before  us,  not 
so  much  a  scene  or  action,  as  a  sort  of  mysterious  rite  ;  it  is 
not  the  Virgin  dead  or  dying  in  her  bed  ;  she  only  slumbers 
in  preparation  for  her  entombment ;  while  in  the  later  pic- 
tures, we  have  a  death-bed  scene  with  all  the  usual  dramatic 
and  pathetic  accessories. 

In  one  sense  or  the  other,  the  theme  has  been  constantly 
treated,  from  the  earliest  ages  of  the  revival  of  Art  down  to 
the  seventeenth  century. 

In  the  most  ancient  examples  which  are  derived  from  the 
Greek  school,  it  is  always  represented  with  a  mystical  and 
solemn  simplicity,  adhering  closely  to  the  old  legend,  and  to 
the  formula  laid  down  in  the  Greek  .Manual. 

There  is  such  a  picture  in  the  Wallerstein  collection  at  Ken- 
sington Palace  [now  dispersed].  The'couch  or  bier  is  in  the 
centre  of  the  picture,  and  Mary  lies  upon  it  wrapped  in  a  veil 


342  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

and  mantle  with  closed  eyes  and  hands  crossed  over  her  bosom. 
The  twelve  apostles 'stand  round  in  attitudes  of  grief;  angels 
attend  bearing  tapers.  Behind  the  extended  form  of  the  Virgin 
is  the  figure  of  Christ ;  a  glorious  red  seraph  with  expanded 
wings  hovers  above  his  head.  He  holds  in  his  arms  the.  soul 
of  the  Virgin  in  the  likeness  of  a  new-born  child.  On  each  side 
stand  St.  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  and  St.  Timothy,  bishop 
of  Ephesus,  in  episcopal  robes.  In  front  the  archangel 
Michael  bends  forward  to  strike  off  the  hands  of  the  high 
priest  Adonijah,  who  had  attempted  to  profane  the  bier.  (This 
last  circumstance  is  rarely  expressed,  except  in  the  Byzantine 
pictures ;  for  in  the  Italian  legend  the  hands  of  the  intruder 
wither  and  adhere  to  the  bed  or  shrine.)  In  the  picture  just  de- 
scribed, all  is  at  once  simple,  and  formal,  and  solemn,  and 
supernatural ;  it  is  a  very  perfect  example,  in  its  way,  of  the 
genuine  Byzantine  treatment.  There  is  a  similar  picture  in 
the  Christian  Museum  of  the  Vatican. 

Another  (the  date  about  the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  as  I  think)  is  curious  from  the  introduction  of  the 
women.  (Collection  of  Mr.  Bromley  of  Wootten.1)  The  Vir- 
gin lies  on  an  embroidered  sheet  held  reverently  by  angels ; 
at  the  feet  and  at  the  head  other  angels  bear  tapers ;  Christ 
receives  the  departing  soul,  which  stretches  out  its  arms ;  St. 
John  kneels  in  front,  and  St.  Peter  reads  the  service  ;  the 
other  apostles  are  behind  him,  and  there  are  three  women. 
The  execution  of  this  curious  picture  is  extremely  rude,  but 
the  heads  very  fine.  Cimabue  painted  the  Death  of  the  Vir- 
gin at  Assisi.  There  is  a  beautiful  example  by  Giotto,  where 
two  lovely  angels  stand  at  the  head  and  two  at  the  feet,  sus- 
taining the  pall  on  which  she  lies ;  another  most  exquisite  by 
Angelico  in  the  Florence  Gallery ;  another  most  beautiful  and 
pathetic  by  Taddeo  Bartoli  in  the  Palazzo  Pubblico  at  Siena 
[one  of  the  series  on  the  Death  of  the  Virgin,  described  in 
the  Introduction]. 

The  custom  of  representing  Christ  as  standing  by  the  couch 
or  tomb  of  his  mother,  in  the  act  of  receiving  her  soul,  con- 
tinued down  to  the  fifteenth  century,  at  least  with  slight  devi- 
ations from  the  original  conception.  The  later  treatment  is 
quite  different.  The  solemn  mysterious  sleep,  the  transition 
from  one  life  to  another  became  a  familiar  death-bed  scene 
i  [The  Bromley  collection  was  sold  iu  1863.] 


THE   DEATH   AND   ASSUMPTION  OF   THE  VIRGIN        343 


Death  of  the  Virgin  (Albert  Diirer) 

with  the  usual  moving  accompaniments.  But  even  while 
avoiding  the  supernatural  incidents,  the  Italians  gave  to  the 
representation  much  ideal  elegance;  for  instance,  in  the  beau- 
tiful fresco  by  Ghirlandajo,  in  the  series  at  S.  Maria  Novella, 
Florence. 


In  the  old  German  school  we  have  that  homely  matter-of- 
fact  feeling  and  dramatic  expression,  and  deliance  of  all  chron- 


344  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

ological  propriety,  which  belonged  to  the  time  and  school. 
The  composition  by  Albert  Diirer,  in  his  series  of  the  Life  of 
the  Virgin,  has  great  beauty  and  simplicity  of  expression,  and 
in  the  arrangement  a  degree  of  grandeur  and  repose  which  has 
caused  it  to  be  often  copied  and  reproduced  as  a  picture,  though 
the  original  form  is  merely  that  of  a  woodcut.1  In  the  cen- 
tre is  a  bedstead  with  a  canopy,  on  which  Mary  lies  fronting 
the  spectator,  her  eyes  half  closed.  On  the  left  of  the  bed 
stands  St.  Peter,  habited  as  a  bishop ;  he  places  a  taper  in  her 
dying  hand ;  another  apostle  holds  the  asperge  with  which  to 
sprinkle  her  with  holy  water  ;  another  reads  the  service.  In  the 
foreground  is  a  priest  bearing  a  cross,  and  another  with  incense  ; 
and  on  the  right,  the  other  apostles  in  attitudes  of  devotion 
and  grief. 

Another  picture  by  Albert  Dlirer,  once  in  the  Fries  Gallery 
at  Vienna,  unites,  in  a  most  remarkable  manner,  all  the  le- 
gendary and  supernatural  incidents  with  the  most  intense  and 
homely  reality.  It  appears  to  have  been  painted  for  the  Em- 
peror Maximilian  as  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  his  first  wife, 
the  interesting  Maria  of  Burgundy.  The  disposition  of  the 
bed  is  the  same  as  in  the  woodcut,  the  foot  towards  the  spec- 
tator. The  face  of  the  dying  Virgin  is  that  of  the  young 
duchess.  On  the  right,  her  son,  afterwards  Philip  of  Spain 
and  father  of  Charles  V.,  stands  as  the  young  St.  John,  and 
presents  the  taper ;  the  other  apostles  are  seen  around,  most 
of  them  praying ;  St.  Peter,  habited  as  bishop,  reads  from  an 
open  book  (this  is  the  portrait  of  George  k  Zlatkonia,  bishop 
of  Vienna,  the  friend  and  counsellor  of  Maximilian)  ;  behind 
him,  as  one  of  the  apostles,  Maximilian  himself,  with  head 
bowed  down  as  in  sorrow.  Three  ecclesiastics  are  seen  enter- 
ing by  an  open  door,  bearing  the  cross,  the  censer,  and  the 
holy  water.  Over  the  bed  is  seen  the  figure  of  Christ ;  in  his 
arms,  the  soul  of  the  Virgin,  in  likeness  of  an  infant  with 
clasped  hands  ;  and  above  all,  in  an  opening  glory  and  like  a 
vision,  her  reception  and  coronation  in  heaven.  Upon  a  scroll 
over  her  head,  are  the  words,  "  Surge,  propera,  arnica  mea ; 
veni  de  Libano,  veni ;  coronaberis."  (Cant.  iv.  8.)  Three 
among  the  hovering  angels  bear  scrolls,  on  one  of  which  is  in- 
scribed the  text  from  the  Canticles,  "  Quae  est  ista  quae  progre- 

1  There  is  one  such  copy  in  the  Sutherland  Gallery ;  and  another  in  the  Mu- 
nich Gallerv. 


THE   DEATH   AND   ASSUMPTION   OF  THE   VIRGIN        345 

ditur  quasi  aurora  consurgens,  pulchra  ut  luna,  electa  ut  sol, 
terribilis  ut  castrorum  acies  ordinata  ? "  (Cant.  vi.  10)  ;  on 
another,  "  Qua?  est  ista  qua?  ascendit  de  deserto  deliciis  affluens 
super  dilectum  suum  ?  "  (Cant.  viii.  5)  ;  and  on  the  third, 
"  Quae  est  ista  quae  ascendit  super  dilectum  suum  ut  virgula 
fund  ?  "  (Cant.  iii.  6.)  This  picture  bears  the  date  1518.  If 
it  be  true,  as  is,  indeed,  most  apparent,  that  it  was  painted  by 
order  of  Maximilian  nearly  forty  years  after  the  loss  of  the 
young  wife  he  so  tenderly  loved,  and  only  one  year  before  his 
own  death,  there  is  something  very  touching  in  it  as  a  memo- 
rial. The  ingenious  and  tender  compliment  implied  by  making 
Mary  of  Burgundy  the  real  object  of  those  mystic  texts  con- 
secrated to  the  glory  of  the  Mater  Dei,  verges,  perhaps,  on 
the  profane  ;  but  it  was  not  so  intended  ;  it  was  merely  that 
combination  of  the  pious  and  the  poetical  and  the  sentimental 
which  was  one  of  the  characteristics  of  the  time,  in  literature, 
as  well  as  in  Art.1 

The  picture  by  Jan  Scorel,  one  of  the  great  ornaments  of 
the  Boissere'e  Gallery  2  (Munich),  is  remarkable  for  its  intense 
reality  and  splendor  of  color.  The  heads  are  full  of  character ; 
that  of  the  Virgin  in  particular,  who  seems,  with  half-closed 
eyes,  in  act  to  breathe  away  her  soul  in  rapture.  The  altar 
near  the  bed,  having  on  it  figure's  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  is,  how- 
ever, a  serious  fault  and  incongruity  in  this  fine  painting.3 

I  must  observe  that  Mary  is  not  always  dead  or  dying ;  she 
is  sometimes  preparing  for  death,  in  the  act  of  prayer  at  the 
foot  of  her  couch,  with  the  apostles  standing  round,  as  in  a 
very  fine  picture  by  Martin  Schatfner  (Munich),  where  she 
kneels  with  a  lovely  expression,  sustained  in  the  arms  of  St. 
John,  while  St.  Peter  holds  the  gospel  open  before  her. 
Sometimes  she  is  sitting  up  in  her  bed,  and  reading  from  the 
Book  of  the  Scripture,  which  is  always  held  by  St.  Peter. 

In  a  picture  by  Cola  dell'  Amatrice,  the  Death  of  the  Virgin 
is  treated  at  once  in  a  mystical  and  dramatic  style.  Enveloped 
in  a  dark  blue  mantle  spangled  with  golden  stars,  she  lies 
extended  on  a  couch ;   St.  Peter,  in  a  splendid  scarlet  cope  as 

i  Heller's  A&rechl  D&rer,  p.  261. 

2  The  admirable  lithograph  by  Strixner  is  well  known. 

3  [The  Munich  gallery  contains  Beveral  pictures  of  the  Death  of  Mary,  but 
not  any  are  attributed  in  the  current  (1894)  official  catalogue  to  the  masters  here 
mentioned.] 


346  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

bishop,  reads  the  service ;  St.  John,  holding  the  palm,  weeps 
bitterly.  In  front,  and  kneeling  before  the  couch  or  bier, 
appear  the  three  great  Dominican  saints  as  witnesses  of  the 
religious  mystery  ;  in  the  centre,  St.  Dominick ;  on  the  left, 
St.  Catherine  of  Siena ;  and  on  the  right,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas. 
In  a  compartment  above  is  the  Assumption.     (Rome,  Capitol.) 

Among  the  later  Italian  examples,  where  the  old  legendary 
accessories  are  generally  omitted,  there  are  some  of  peculiar 
elegance.  One  by  Ludovico  Caracci,  another  by  Domenichino, 
and  a  third  by  Carlo  Maratti,  are  treated,  if  not  with  much  of 
poetry  or  religious  sentiment,  yet  with  great  dignity  and 
pathos. 

I  must  mention  one  more,  because  of  its  history  and  celeb- 
rity :  Caravaggio,  of  whom  it  was  said  that  he  always  painted 
like  a  ruffian,  because  he  was  a  ruffian,  was  also  a  genius  in 
his  way,  and  for  a  few  months  he  became  the  fashion  at  Rome, 
and  was  even  patronized  by  some  of  the  higher  ecclesiastics. 
He  painted  for  the  church  of  La  Scala  in  Trastevere  a  picture 
of  the  death  of  the  Virgin,  wonderful  for  the  intense  natural 
expression,  and  in  the  same  degree  grotesque  from  its  impro- 
priety. Mary,  instead  of  being  decently  veiled,  lies  extended 
with  long  scattered  hair ;  the  strongly -marked  features  and 
large  proportions  of  the  figure  are  those  of  a  woman  of  the 
Trastevere.  The  face  has  a  swollen  look,  and  it  was  said  that 
his  model  had  been  a  common  woman  whose  features  were 
swelled  by  intoxication.  The  apostles  stand  around  ;  one  or 
two  of  them  —  I  must  use  the  word  —  blubber  aloud  :  Peter 
thrusts  his  fists  into  his  eyes  to  keep  back  the  tears ;  a  woman 
seated  in  front  cries  and  sobs  ;  nothing  can  be  more  real,  nor 
more  utterly  vulgar.  The  ecclesiastics  for  whom  the  picture 
was  executed  were  so  scandalized  that  they  refused  to  hang  it 
up  in  their  church.  It  was  purchased  by  the  Duke  of  Mantua, 
and,  with  the  rest  of  the  Mantuan  Gallery,  came  afterwards 
into  the  possession  of  our  unfortunate  Charles  I.  On  the  dis- 
persion of  his  pictures  it  found  its  way  into  the  Louvre,  where 
it  now  is.      It  has  been  often  engraved. 

The  Apostles  carry  the  body  of  the  Virgin  to  the 
tomb.  This  is  a  very  uncommon  subject.  There  is  a  most 
beautiful  example  by  Taddeo  Bartolo  (Siena,  Palazzo  Pubblico) 
full  of  profound  religious  feeling.      There  is  a  small  engraving 


THE   DEATH   AND   ASSUMPTION   OF    THE   VIRGIN        347 

by  Bonasone,  in  a  series  of  the  Life  of  the  Virgin,  apparently 
after  Parmigiano,  in  which  the  apostles  bear  her  on  their 
shoulders  over  rocky  ground,  and  appear  to  be  descending  into 
the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat :   underneath  are  these  lines  :  — 

Portan  gli  uomini  santi  in  su  le  spalle 
Al  Sepolcro  il  corpo  di  Maria 
Di  Josaphat  nella  famosa  valle. 

There  is  another  picture  of  this  subject  by  Ludovico  Caracci, 
at  Parma. 

The  Entombment.  In  the  early  pictures  there  is  little 
distinction  between  this  subject  and  the  death  of  the  Virgin. 
If  the  figure  of  Christ  stand  over  the  recumbent  form,  holding 
in  his  arms  the  emancipated  soul,  then  it  is  the  Transito  — 
the  death  or  sleep ;  but  when  a  sarcophagus  is  in  the  centre  of 
the  picture,  and  the  body  lies  extended  above  it  on  a  sort  of 
sheet  or  pall  held  by  angels  or  apostles,  it  may  be  determined 
that  it  is  the  Entombment  of  the  Virgin  after  her  death.  In 
a  small  and  very  beautiful  picture  by  Angelico  we  have  dis- 
tinctly this  representation.  She  lies,  like  one  asleep,  on  a 
white  pall,  held  reverently  by  the  mourners.  They  prepare 
to  lay  her  in  a  marble  sarcophagus.  St.  John,  bearing  the 
starry  palm,  appears  to  address  a  man  in  a  doctor's  cap  and 
gown,  evidently  intended  for  Dionysius  the  Areopagite.  Above, 
in  the  sky,  the  soul  of  the  Virgin,  surrounded  by  most  graceful 
angels,  is  received  into  heaven.  This  group  is  distinguished 
from  the  group  below  by  being  painted  in  a  dreamy  bluish 
tint,  like  solidified  light,  or  like  a  vision.  [Once]  in  the  pos- 
session of  W.  Fuller  Maitland,1  Esq.  Engraved  in  the  "  Etru- 
ria  Pittrice." 

The  Assumption.  The  old  painters  distinguished  between 
the  Assumption  of  the  soul  and  the  Assumption  of  the  body 
of  the  Virgin.  In  the  first  instance,  at  the  moment  the  soul 
iparated  from  her  body,  Christ  receives  it  into  his  keeping, 
standing  in  person  either  beside  her  death-bed  or  above  it. 
I'.ut  in  the  Assumption  properly  so  called,  we  have  the  moment 
wherein  the  soul  of  the  Virgin  is  reunited  to  her  body,  which, 
at  the  command  of  Christ,  rises  up  from  the  tomb.  Of  all 
the  themes  of  sacred  Art,  there  is  not  one  more  complete  and 
1  [The  Fuller  Maitland  collection  was  dispersed  by  a  sale  in  1879.] 


848  HISTOKICAL   SUBJECTS 

beautiful  than  this,  in  what  it  represents,  and  in  what  it  sug- 
gests. Earth  and  its  sorrows,  death  and  the  grave,  are  left 
below ;  and  the  pure  spirit  of  the  Mother,  again  clothed  in  its 
unspotted  tabernacle,  surrounded  by  angelic  harmonies,  and 
sustained  by  wings  of  cherubim  and  seraphim,  soars  upwards  to 
meet  her  Son,  and  to  be  reunited  to  him  forever. 

We  must  consider  this  fine  subject  under  two  aspects. 

The  first  is  purely  ideal  and  devotional ;  it  is  simply  the 
expression  of  a  dogma  of  faith,  Assumjrta  est  Maria  Virgo 
in  Ccelum.  The  figure  of  the  Virgin  is  seen  within  an  almond- 
shaped  aureole  (the  mandorla),  not  unfrequently  crowned  as 
well  as  veiled,  her  hands  joined,  her  white  robe  falling  round 
her  feet  (for  in  all  the  early  pictures  the  dress  of  the  Virgin  is 
white,  often  spangled  with  stars),  and  thus  she  seems  to  cleave 
the  air  upwards,  while  adoring  angels  surround  the  glory  of 
light  within  which  she  is  enshrined.  Such  are  the  figures 
which  are  placed  in  sculpture  over  the  portals  of  the  churches 
dedicated  to  her,  as  the  "  Santa  Maria  del  Eiore,"  —  the  Duomo, 
at  Florence.  She  is  not  always  standing  and  upright,  but 
seated  on  a  throne,  placed  within  an  aureole  of  light,  and 
borne  by  angels,  as  over  the  door  of  the  Campo  Santa  at  Pisa. 
I  am  not  sure  that  such  figures  are  properly  styled  the  Assump- 
tion ;  they  rather  exhibit  in  an  ideal  form  the  glorification  of 
the  Virgin,  another  version  of  the  same  idea  expressed  in  the 
Incoronata.  She  is  here  Maria  Virgo  Assumpta,  or,  in 
Italian,  L'  Assunta  ;  she  has  taken  upon  her  the  glory  of  im- 
mortality, though  not  yet  crowned. 

But  when  the  Assumption  is  presented  to  us  as  the  final 
scene  of  her  life,  and  expresses,  as  it  were,  a  progressive  action 

—  when  she  has  left  the  empty  tomb,  and  the  wondering, 
weeping  apostles  on  the  earth  below,  and  rises  "like  the  morn- 
ing"  {quasi  aurora  surgens)  from   the  night  of  the  grave, 

—  then  we  have  the  Assumption  of  the  Virgin  in  its  dramatic 
and  historical  form,  the  final  act  and  consummation  of  her 
visible  and  earthly  life.  As  the  Church  had  never  settled  in 
what  manner  she  was  translated  into  heaven,  only  pronouncing 
it  heresy  to  doubt  the  fact  itself,  the  field  was  in  great  measure 
left  open  to  the  artists.  The  tomb  below,  the  figure  of  the 
Virgin  floating  in  mid-air,  and  the  opening  heavens  above,  such 
is  the  general  conception  fixed  by  the  traditions  of  Art ;  but  to 


| 


^ 


"5 


DEATH    AND   ASSUMPTION   OF  THE  VIRGIN  (Orcagna) 


THE   DEATH   AND   ASSUMPTION1   OF   THE   VIRGIN       349 

give  some  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  this  has  heen  varied,  I 
shall  describe  a  few  examples. 

1.  Griunta  Pisano,  1230.  (Assisi,  S.  Francesco.)  Christ  and 
the  Virgin  ascend  together  in  a  seated  attitude  upborne  by 
clouds  and  surrounded  by  angels ;  his  arm  is  round  her.  The 
empty  tomb,  with  the  apostles  and  others,  below.  The  idea 
is  here  taken  from  the  Canticles  (ch.  viii.),  "  Who  is  this  that 
ariseth  from  the  wilderness  leaning  upon  her  beloved  ?  " 

2.  Andrea  Orcagna,  1359.  (Bas-relief,  Or  San  Michele,  Flor- 
ence.) The  Virgin  Mary  is  seated  on  a  rich  throne  within  the 
mandorla,  which  is  borne  upwards  by  four  angels,  while  two 
are  playing  on  musical  instruments.  Immediately  below  the 
Virgin,  on  the  right,  is  the  figure  of  St.  Thomas,  with  hands 
outstretched,  receiving  the  mystic  girdle  ;  below  is  the  entomb- 
ment ;  Mary  lies  extended  on  a  pall  above  a  sarcophagus.  In 
the  centre  stands  Christ,  holding  in  his  arms  the  emancipated 
soul ;  he  is  attended  by  eight  angels.  St.  John  is  at  the  head 
of  the  Virgin,  and  near  him  an  angel  swings  a  censer ;  St. 
James  bends  and  kisses  her  hand  ;  St.  Peter  reads  as  usual ; 
and  the  other  apostles  stand  round,  with  Dionysius,  Timothy, 
and  Hierotheus,  distinguished  from  the  apostles  by  wearing 
turbans  and  caps.     The  whole  most  beautifully  treated. 

I  have  been  minutely  exact  in  describing  the  details  of  this 
composition,  because  it  will  be  useful  as  a  key  to  many  others 
of  the  early  Tuscan  school,  both  in  sculpture  and  painting ; 
for  example,  the  fine  bas-relief  by  Nanni  over  the  south  door 
of  the  Duomo  at  Florence  represents  St.  Thomas  in  the  same 
manner  kneeling  outside  the  aureole  and  receiving  the  girdle ; 
but  the  entombment  below  is  omitted.  These  sculptures  were 
executed  at  the  time  when  the  enthusiasm  for  the  Sacratis- 
sima  Cintola  delta  Madonna  prevailed  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  Tuscany,  and  Prato  had  become  a  place  of  pil- 
grimage. 

This  story  of  the  girdle  was  one  of  the  legends  imported 
from  the  East.  It  had  certainly  a  Greek  origin  ; 1  and  accord- 
ing to  the  Greek  formula  St.  Thomas  is  to  be  figured  apart  in 
the  clouds,  tin  the  right  of  the  Virgin,  and  in  the  act  of  receiv- 
ing the  girdle.  Such  is  the  approved  arrangement  till  the 
end  of  the  fourteenth  century ;  afterwards  we  find  St.  Thomas 
placed  below  among  the  other  apostles. 

1  It  may  be  found  in  the  Greek  Mtnvloyhini,  vol.  i i i .  p.  225. 


350  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

THE    LEGEND    OF    THE    HOLY    GIRDLE 

An  account  of  the  Assumption  would  be  imperfect  -without 
some  notice  of  the  Western  legend,  which  relates  the  subse- 
quent history  of  the  Girdle,  and  its  arrival  in  Italy,  as  repre- 
sented in  the  frescoes  of  Agnolo  Gaddi  at  Prato.1 

The  chapel  della  Sacratissima  Cintola  was  erected  from 
the  designs  of  Giovanni  Pisano  about  1320.  This  "  most 
sacred  "  relic  had  long  been  deposited  under  the  high  altar  of 
the  principal  chapel,  and  held  in  great  veneration  ;  but  in  the 
year  1312  a  native  of  Prato,  whose  name  was  Musciatino,  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  carrying  it  off  and  selling  it  in  Florence. 
The  attempt  was  discovered,  the  unhappy  thief  suffered  a  cruel 
death,  and  the  people  of  Prato  resolved  to  provide  for  the 
future  custody  of  the  precious  relic  a  new  and  inviolable 
shrine. 

The  chapel  is  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  three  sides  of 
which  are  painted,  the  other  being  separated  from  the  choir  by 
a  bronze  gate  of  most  exquisite  workmanship,  designed  by  Ghi- 
berti,  or,  as  others  say,  by  Brunelleschi,  and  executed  partly 
by  Simone  Donatello. 

On  the  wall,  to  the  left  as  we  enter,  is  a  series  of  subjects 
from  the  Life  of  the  Virgin,  beginning,  as  usual,  witli  the 
Rejection  of  Joachim  from  the  temple,  and  ending  with  the 
Nativity  of  our  Saviour. 

The  end  of  the  chapel  is  filled  up  by  the  Assumption  of  the 
Virgin,  the  tomb  being  seen  below,  surrounded  by  the  apostles ; 
and  above  it  the  Virgin,  as  she  floats  into  heaven,  is  in  the  act 
of  loosening  her  girdle,  which  St.  Thomas,  devoutly  kneeling, 
stretches  out  his  arms  to  receive.  Above  this,  a  circular  win- 
dow exhibits,  in  stained  glass,  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin, 
surrounded  by  a  glory  of  angels. 

On  the  third  wall  to  the  right  we  have  the  subsequent 
History  of  the  Girdle,  in  six  compartments. 

St.  Thomas,  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  to  fulfil  his  mission 
as  apostle  in  the  far  East,  intrusts  the  precious  girdle  to  the 
care  of  one  of  his  disciples,  who  receives  it  from  his  hands  in 
an  ecstasy  of  amazement  and  devotion. 

The  deposit  remains,  for  a  thousand  years,  shrouded  from 

1  Notizie  istoriclie  intorno  alia  sacratissima  Cintola  di  Maria  Vergine,  che  si 
conserva  Cittnella  a  di  Prato,  daj  Dottoie  Giuseppe  Bianchini  di  Prato,  1795. 


THE   DEATH   AND   ASSUMPTION   OF   THE   VIRGIN       351 

the  eyes  of  the  profane  ;  and  the  next  scene  shows  us  the 
manner  in  which  it  reached  the  city  of  Prato.  A  certain 
Michael,  of  the  Dogomari  family  in  Prato,  joined,  with  a  party 
of  his  young  townsmen,  the  crusade  in  1096.  But,  instead  of 
returning  to  his  native  country  after  the  war  was  over,  this 
same  Michael  took  up  the  trade  of  a  merchant,  travelling  from 
land  to  land  in  pursuit  of  gain,  until  he  came  to  the  city  of 
Jerusalem,  and  lodged  in  the  house  of  a  Greek  priest,  to  whom 
the  custody  of  the  sacred  relic  had  descended  from  a  long  line 
of  ancestry  ;  and  this  priest,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
oriental  church,  was  married,  and  had  "one  fair  daughter,  and 
no  more,  the  which  he  loved  passing  well,"  so  well,  that  he 
had  intrusted  to  her  care  the  venerable  girdle.  Now  it  chanced 
that  Michael,  lodging  in  the  same  house,  became  enamored  of 
the  maiden,  and  not  being  able  to  obtain  the  consent  of  her 
father  to  their  marriage,  he  had  recourse  to  the  mother,  who, 
moved  by  the  tears  and  entreaties  of  the  daughter,  not  only 
permitted  their  union,  but  bestowed  on  her  the  girdle  as  a 
dowry,  and  assisted  the  young  lovers  in  their  flight. 

In  accordance  with  this  story,  we  have,  in  the  third  com- 
partment, the  Marriage  of  Michael  with  the  Eastern  Maiden, 
and  then  the  voyage  from  the  Holy  Land  to  the  shores  of 
Tuscany.  On  the  deck  of  the  vessel,  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
mast,  is  placed  the  casket  containing  the  relic,  to  which  the 
mariners  attribute  their  prosperous  voyage  to  the  shores  of 
Italy.  Then  Michael  is  seen  disembarking  at  Pisa,  and,  with 
his  casket  reverently  carried  in  his  hands,  he  reenters  the 
paternal  mansion  in  the  city  of  Prato. 

Then  we  have  a  scene  of  wonder.  Michael  is  extended  on 
his  bed  in  profound  sleep.  An  angel  at  his  head,  and  another 
at  his  feet,  are  about  to  lift  him  up;  for,  says  the  story, 
Michael  was  so  jealous  of  his  treasure,  that  not  only  he  kindled 
a  lamp  every  night  in  its  honor,  but  fearing  he  should  be 
robbed  of  it,  he  placed  it  under  his  bed,  which  action,  though 
suggested  by  his  profound  sense  of  its  value,  offended  his 
guardian  angels,  who  every  night  lifted  him  from  his  bed  and 
placed  him  on  the  bare  earth,  which  nightly  infliction  this 
pious  man  endured  rather  than  risk  the  loss  of  his  invaluable 
relic.      But  after  Borne  years  Michael  fell  sick  and  died. 

In  the  last  compartment  we  have  the  scene  of  his  death. 
The  bishop    CTberto  kneels  at  his  side,  and  receives  from  him 


352  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS  ' 

the  sacred  girdle,  with  a  solemn  injunction  to  preserve  it  in 
the  cathedral  church  of  the  city,  and  to  present  it  from  time  to 
time  for  the  veneration  of  the  people,  which  injunction  Uberto 
most  piously  fulfilled  ;  and  Ave  see  him  carrying  it,  attended 
by  priests  bearing  torches,  in  solemn  procession  to  the  chapel, 
in  which  it  has  ever  since  remained. 

Agnolo  Gaddi  was  but  a  second-rate  artist,  even  for  his  time, 
yet  these  frescoes,  in  spite  of  the  feebleness  and  general  inac- 
curacy of  the  drawing,  are  attractive  from  a  certain  naive 
grace  ;  and  the  romantic  and  curious  details  of  the  legend  have 
lent  them  so  much  of  interest,  that,  as  Lord  Lindsay  says, 
"  when  standing  on  the  spot  one  really  feels  indisposed  for 
criticism."  x 

The  exact  date  of  the  frescoes  executed  by  Agnolo  Gaddi  is 
not  known,  but,  according  to  Vasari  he  was  called  to  Prato 
after  1348.  An  inscription  in  the  chapel  refers  them  to  the 
year  1390,  a  date  too  late  to  be  relied  on.  The  story  of 
Michele  di  Prato  I  have  never  seen  elsewhere ;  but  just  as  the 
vicinity  of  Cologne,  the  shrine  of  the  "  Three  Kings,"  had 
rendered  the  adoration  of  the  Magi  one  of  the  popular  themes 
in  early  German  and  Flemish  Art,  so  the  vicinity  of  Prato 
rendered  the  legend  of  St.  Thomas  a  favorite  theme  of  the 
Florentine  school,  and  introduced  it  wherever  the  influence  of 
that  school  had  extended.  The  fine  fresco  by  Mainardi,  in  the 
Earoncelli  chapel,  is  an  instance  ;  and  I  must  cite  one  yet 
finer,  that  by  Ghirlandajo  in  the  choir  of  S.  Maria  Novella ; 
in  this  last  mentioned  example,  the  Virgin  stands  erect  in  star- 
bespangled  drapery  and  closely  veiled. 

We  now  proceed  to  other  examples  of  the  treatment  of  the 
Assumption. 

1  M.  Rio  is  more  poetical.  ["But  when  I  heard  this  legend  related  for  the 
first  time,  it  appeared  to  me  that  the  picture  reflected  a  portion  of  the  poetry  it 
contains.  This  love  beyond  the  sea,  blended  with  the  chivalrous  adventures  of 
a  crusade  —  this  precious  relic,  given  in  dowry  to  a  poor  girl  —  the  devotion  of 
the  young  spouses  for  this  revered  pledge  of  their  happiness  —  their  clandestine 
departure — their  prosperous  voyage,  accompanied  by  dolphins,  who  form  their 
escort  on  the  surface  of  the  water  —  their  arrival  at  Prato,  the  repeated  miracles, 
which,  together  with  a  mortal  malady,  draw  at  length  from  the  lips  of  the  dy- 
ing man  a  public  declaration,  in  consequence  of  which  the  holy  girdle  was  de- 
posited in  the  cathedral,  —  all  this  mixture  of  romantic  passion  and  naive  piety 
had  effaced  forme  the  technical  imperfections  which  would  probably  have  struck 
a  more  critical  observer."]     Christian  Art,  p.  63. 


THE   DEATH  AND   ASSUMPTION   OF   THE   VIRGIN        35a 

3.  Taddeo  Bartolo,  1413.  (Series  at  Siena,  Palazzo  Pubblico.) 
He  has  represented  the  moment  in  which  the  soul  is  reunited 
to  the  body.  Clothed  in  a  starry  robe  she  appears  in  the  very 
act  and  attitude  of  one  rising  up  from  a  reclining  position, 
which  is  most  beautifully  expressed,  as  if  she  were  partly  lifted 
up  upon  the  expanded,  many-colored  wings  of  a  cluster  of  an- 
gels, and  partly  drawn  up,  as  it  were,  by  the  attractive  power 
of  Christ,  who,  floating  above  her,  takes  her  clasped  hands  in 
both  his.  The  intense,  yet  tender  ecstasy  in  her  face,  the 
mild,  spiritual  benignity  in  his,  are  quite  indescribable,  and  fix 
the  picture  in  the  heart  and  the  memory  as  one  of  the  finest 
religious  conceptions  extant. 

I  imagine  this  action  of  Christ  taking  her  hands  in  both  his 
must  be  founded  on  some  ancient  Greek  model,  for  I  have 
seen  the  same  motif  in  other  pictures,  German  and  Italian  ; 
but  in  none  so  tenderly  or  so  happily  expressed. 

4.  [Siena  School]  Berlin  Gallery.  A  large  altar-piece.  Mary 
seated  on  a  throne,  within  a  glory  of  encircling  cherubim  of  a 
glowing  red,  and  about  thirty  more  angels,  some  adoring,  others 
playing  on  musical  instruments,  is  borne  upwards.  Her  hands 
are  joined  in  prayer,  her  head  veiled  and  crowned,  and  she 
wears  a  white  robe,  embroidered  with  golden  flowers.  Above, 
in  the  opening  heaven,  is  the  figure  of  Christ,  young  and  beard- 
less (a  V antique),  with  outstretched  arms,  surrounded  by  the 
spirits  of  the  blessed.  Below,  of  a  diminutive  size,  as  if  seen 
from  a  distant  height,  is  the  tomb  surrounded  by  the  apostles, 
St.  Thomas  holding  the  girdle.  This  is  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable and  important  pictures  of  the  Siena  school,  out  of 
Siena,  with  which  I  am  acquainted. 

5.  Ghirlandajo,  1475.  The  Virgin  stands  in  star-spangled 
drapery,  with  a  long  white  veil,  and  hands  joined  as  she  floats 
upwards.  She  is  sustained  by  four  seraphim.  (Florence,  S. 
Maria  Novella.) 

G.  Raphael,  1516.  The  Virgin  is  seated  within  the  horns 
of  a  crescent  moon,  her  hands  joined.  On  each  side  an  angel 
stands,  bearing  a  flaming  torch  ;  the  empty  tomb  and  eleven 
apostles  below.  This  composition  is  engraved  after  Raphael 
by  an  anonymous  master  (Le  Maitre  au  de).  It  is  majestic, 
ami  graceful,  but  peculiar  for  the  time.  The  two  angels,  or 
rather  genii,  bearing  torches  on  each  side,  impart  to  the  whole 
something  of  the  air  of  a  heathen  apotheosis. 


354  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

7.  Albert  Diirer.  The  apostles  kneel  or  stand  round  the 
empty  tomb;  while  Mary,  soaring  upwards,  is  received  into 
heaven  by  her  Son  ;  an  angel  on  each  side. 

8.  Gaudenzio  Ferrari,  1525.  Mary,  in  a  white  robe  span- 
gled with  stars,  rises  upwards  as  if  cleaving  the  air  in  an  erect 
position,  with  her  hands  extended  but  not  raised,  and  a  beauti- 
ful expression  of  mild  rapture,  as  if  uttering  the  words  at- 
tributed to  her,  "  My  heart  is  ready  ;  "  many  angels,  some  of 
whom  bear  tapers,  around  her.  One  angel  presents  the  end  of 
the  girdle  to  St.  Thomas ;  the  other  apostles  and  the  empty 
tomb  lower  down.      (Vercelli,  S.  Cristoforo.) 

9.  Correggio.  (Cupola  of  the  Duomo  at  Parma,  1530.) 
This  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  earliest  instances  of  the  Assumption 
applied  as  a  grand  piece  of  scenic  decoration ;  at  all  events, 
we  have  nothing  in  this  luxuriant  composition  of  the  solemn 
simplicity  of  the  older  conception.  In  the  highest  part  of  the 
cupola,  where  the  strongest  light  falls,  Christ,  a  violently  fore- 
shortened figure,  precipitates  himself  downwards  to  meet  the 
ascending  Madonna,  who,  reclining  amid  clouds,  and  surrounded 
by  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  extends  her  arms  to- 
wards him.  One  glow  of  heavenly  rapture  is  diffused  over 
all ;  but  the  scene  is  vast,  confused,  almost  tumultuous.  Be- 
low, all  around  the  dome,  as  if  standing  on  a  balcony,  appear 
the  apostles.1 

10.  Titian,  1540  (about).  In  the  Assumption  at  Venice,  a 
picture  of  world-wide  celebrity,  and,  in  its  way,  of  unequalled 
beauty,  we  have  another  signal  departure  from  all  the  old  tradi- 
tions. The  noble  figure  of  the  Virgin  in  a  flood  of  golden  light 
is  borne,  or  rather  impelled,  upwards  with  such  rapidity,  that 
her  veil  and  drapery  are  disturbed  by  the  motion.  Her  feet 
are  uncovered,  a  circumstance  inadmissible  in  ancient  Art ;  and 
her  drapery,  instead  of  being  white,  is  of  the  usual  blue  and 
crimson,  her  appropriate  colors  in  life.  Her  attitude,  with  out- 
spread arms  —  her  face,  not  indeed  a  young  or  lovely  face,  but 
something  far  better,  sublime  and  powerful  in  the  expression  of 
rapture  —  the  divinely  beautiful  and  childish,  yet  devout,  un- 
earthly little  angels  around  her  —  the  grand  apostles  below  — 
and  the  splendor  of  color  over  all  —  render  this  picture  an  en- 
chantment at  once  to  the  senses  and  the  imagination  ;  to  me 
the  effect  was  like  music. 

1  [There  are  five  engravings  by  Toschi.] 


THE   DEATH   AND   ASSUMPTION   OF   THE   VIRGIN 


355 


Assumption  of  the  Virgin  (Titian) 

11.  Palma  Yecclrio,  1535.  (Venice  Academy.)  The  Virgin 
looks  down,  not  upwards,  as  is  usual,  and  is  in  the  act  of  taking 
off  her  girdle  to  bestow  it  on  St.  Thomas,  who,  with  ten  other 
apostles,  stands  below. 

12.  Annibal  Caracci,  1600.  (Bologna  Gallery.)  The  Vir- 
gin amid  a  crowd  of  youthful  angels,  and  sustained  by  clouds, 
is  placed  across  the  picture  with  extended  arms.  Below  is  the 
tomb  (of  sculptured  marble)  and  eleven  apostles,  one  of  whom, 
with  an  astonished  air,  lifts  from  the  sepulchre  a  handful  of 
roses.  There  is  another  picture  wonderfully  fine  in  the  same 
style  by  Agostino  Caracci.  This  fashion  of  varying  the  atti- 
tude of  the  Virgin  was  carried  in  the  later  schools  to  every 
excess  of  affectation.  In  a  picture  by  Lanfranco,  she  cleaves 
the  air  like  a  swimmer,  which  is  detestable. 

13.  Ruben-  painted  at  least  twelve  Assumptions  with  char- 
acteristic verve,  and  movement.  Some  of  these,  if  not  very 
solemn  or  poetical,  convey  very  happily  the  idea  of  a  renovated 
life.      The  largest  and  most  splendid  as  a  scenic  composition  is 


35G  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

in  the  Muse'e  at  Brussels.  More  beautiful,  and,  indeed,  quite 
unusually  poetical  for  Rubens,  is  the  small  Assumption  in  the 
Queen's  Gallery,  a  finished  sketch  for  the  larger  picture.  The 
majestic  Virgin,  arrayed  in  white  and  blue  drapery,  rises  with 
outstretched  arms,  surrounded  by  a  choir  of  angels ;  below, 
the  apostles  and  the  women  either  follow  with  upward  gaze  the 
soaring  ecstatic  figure,  or  look  with  surprise  at  the  flowers  which 
spring  within  the  empty  tomb. 

In  another  Assumption  by  Rubens,  one  of  the  women  ex- 
hibits the  miraculous  flowers  in  her  apron,  or  in  a  cloth,  I  forget 
which ;  but  the  whole  conception,  like  too  many  of  his  reli- 
gious subjects,  borders  on  the  vulgar  and  familiar. 

14.  Guido,  as  it  is  well  known,  excelled  in  this  fine  sub- 
ject—  I  mean  according  to  the  taste  and  manner  of  his  time 
and  school.  His  ascending  Madonnas  have  a  sort  of  aerial  ele- 
gance which  is  very  attractive ;  but  they  are  too  nymph-like. 
We  must  be  careful  to  distinguish  .  in  his  pictures  (and  all 
similar  pictures  painted  after  1615)  between  the  Assumption 
and  the  Immaculate  Conception;  it  is  a  difference  in  senti- 
ment, which  I  have  already  pointed  out.  The  small  finished 
sketch  by  Guido  in  our  National  Gallery  is  an  Assumption  and 
Coronation  together;  the  Madonna  is  received  into  heaven 
as  Begina  Angelorum.  The  fine  large  Assumption  in  the  Mu- 
nich Gallery  may  be  regarded  as  the  best  example  of  Guido's 
manner  of  treating  this  theme.  His  picture  in  the  Bridge- 
water  Gallery,  often  styled  an  Assumption,  is  an  Immaculate 
Conception. 

The  same  observations  would  apply  to  Poussin,  with,  how- 
ever, more  of  majesty.  His  Virgins  are  usually  seated  or 
reclining,  and  in  general  we  have  a  fine  landscape  beneath. 

The  Assumption,  like  the  Annunciation,  the  Nativity,  and 
other  historical  themes,  may,  through  ideal  accessories,  assume 
a  purely  devotional  form.  It  ceases  then  to  be  a  fact  or  an 
event,  and  becomes  a  vision  or  a  mystery,  adored  by  votaries, 
to  which  attendant  saints  bear  witness.  Of  this  style  of  treat- 
ment there  are  many  beautiful  examples. 

1.  Early  Florentine,  about  1450.  The  Virgin,  seated,  ele- 
gantly draped  in  white,  and  with  pale  blue  ornaments  in  her 
hair,  rises  within  a  glory  sustained  by  six  angels ;  below  is  the 


THE   DEATH   AND   ASSUMPTION   OF   THE   VIRGIN        <357 


Assumption  of  the  Virgin  (Granacci) 

tomb  full  of  flowers,  and  in  front,  kneeling,  St.  Francis  and 
St.  Jerome.      (Collection  of  Fuller  Maitland,  Esq.1) 

2.  Ambrogio  Borgognone,  1500.  (Milan,  Brera.)  Sbe 
stands,  floating  upwards  in  a  line  attitude  :  two  angels  crown 
her ;  others  sustain  her  ;  others  sound  their  trumpets.  Below 
are  the  apostles  and  empty  tomb;  at  each  side,  St.  Ambrose 
and  St.  Augustine;  behind  them,  St.  Cosimo  and  St.  Damian ; 
the  introduction  of  these  saintly  apothecaries  stamps  the  pic- 
ture as  an  ex-voto — perhaps  against  the  plague.  It  is  very 
fine,  expressive,  ami  curious. 

:;.    F.  (iianacci,   1530.2     (Pal.  Ruccellai,  Florence.)     The 

1  [The  picture  was  attributed   to  Anfrelico,  and   is  described  in  Kedford's 
Sales,  vol.  i.  p.  i»!i:..  and  vol.  ii.  p.  216.     Sold  in  1871). J 

2  Engraved  in  the  Elruria  1'ittrice. 


358  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

Virgin,  ascending  in  glory,  presents  her  girdle  to  St.  Thomas, 
who  kneels ;  on  each  side,  standing  as  witnesses,  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  as  patron  of  Florence,  St.  Laurence,  as  patron  of  Lo- 
renzo de'  Medici,  and  the  two  apostles,  St.  Bartholomew  and 
St.  James. 

4.  Andrea  del  Sarto,  1520.  (Pitti,  Florence.)  She  is 
seated  amid  vapory  clouds,  arrayed  in  white ;  on  each  side 
adoring  angels ;  below,  the  tomb  with  the  apostles,  a  fine 
solemn  group ;  and  in  front,  St.  Nicholas,  and  that  interesting 
penitent  saint,  St.  Margaret  of  Cortona.  (Legends  of  the  Mo- 
nastic Orders  p.  339.)  The  head  of  the  Virgin  is  the  like- 
ness of  Andrea's  infamous  wife  ;  otherwise  this  is  a  magnificent 
picture. 

The  Coronation  of  the  Virgin  follows  the  Assumption. 
In  some  instances  this  final  consummation  of  her  glorious  des- 
tiny supersedes,  or  rather  includes,  her  ascension  into  heaven. 

As  I  have  already  observed,  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish 
this  scenic  Coronation  from  the  mystical  Incoronata,  properly 
so  called,  which  is  the  triumph  of  the  allegorical  church, 
and  altogether  an  allegorical  and  devotional  theme ;  whereas 
the  scenic  Coronation  is  the  last  event  in  a  series  of  the  Life 
of  the  Virgin.  Here  we  have  before  us,  not  merely  the  court 
of  heaven,  its  argent  fields  peopled  with  celestial  spirits,  and 
the  sublime  personification  of  the  glorified  Church  exhibited 
as  a  vision,  and  quite  apart  from  all  real,  all  human  associa- 
tions ;  but  we  have  rather  the  triumph  of  the  human  mother 
—  the  lowly  woman  lifted  into  immortality.  The  earth  and 
its  sepulchre,  the  bearded  apostles  beneath,  show  us  that,  like 
her  Son,  she  has  ascended  into  glory  by  the  dim  portal  of  the 
grave,  and  entered  into  felicity  by  the  path  of  pain.  Her  Son, 
next  to  whom  she  has  taken  her  seat,  has  himself  wiped  the 
tears  from  her  eyes,  and  set  the  resplendent  crown  upon  her 
head  ;  the  Father  blesses  her ;  the  Holy  Spirit  bears  witness ; 
cherubim  and  seraphim  welcome  her,  and  salute  her  as  their 
queen.      So  Dante  — 

At  their  joy 
And  carol  smiles  the  Lovely  One  of  heaven, 
That  joy  is  in  the  eyes  of  all  the  blest. 

Thus,  then,  we  must  distinguish  :  — 

1.   The   Coronation   of  the  Virgin    is    a   strictly  devotional 


CORONATION   OF  THE   VIRGIN  (ati d  to  Raphai  l) 


THE   CORONATION  359 

subject  where  she  is  attended,  not  merely  by  angels  and  pa- 
triarchs, but  by  canonized  saints  and  martyrs,  by  fathers  and 
doctors  of  the  Church,  heads  of  religious  orders  in  monkish 
dresses,  patrons  and  votaries. 

2.  It  is  a  dramatic  and  historical  subject  when  it  is  the  last 
scene  in  a  series  of  the  Life  of  the  Virgin ;  when  the  death- 
bed or  the  tomb,  or  the  wondering  apostles  and  weeping 
women  are  figured  on  the  earth  below. 

Of  the  former  treatment  I  have  spoken  at  length.  It  is 
that  most  commonly  met  with  in  early  pictures  and  altar- 
pieces. 

With  regard  to  the  historical  treatment,  it  is  more  rare  as 
a  separate  subject,  but  there  are  some  celebrated  examples, 
both  in  church  decoration  and  in  pictures. 

1.  In  the  apsis  of  the  Duomo  at  Spoleto  we  have,  below, 
the  death  of  the  Virgin  in  the  usual  manner,  that  is,  the  Byzan- 
tine conception  treated  in  the  Italian  style,  with  Christ  receiv- 
ing her  soul,  and  over  it  the  Coronation.  The  Virgin  kneels 
in  a  white  robe  spangled  with  golden  flowers ;  and  Christ, 
who  is  here  represented  rather  as  the  Father  than  the  Son, 
crowns  her  as  Queen  of  Heaven. 

2.  The  composition  by  Albert  Durer,  which  concludes  his 
fine  series  of  woodcuts,  the  "  Life  of  the  Virgin,"  is  very  grand 
and  singular.  On  the  earth  is  the  empty  tomb ;  near  it  the 
bier;  around  stand  the  Twelve  Apostles  all  looking  up  amazed. 
There  is  no  allusion  to  the  girdle,  which,  indeed,  is  seldom 
found  in  northern  Art.  Above,  the  Virgin  floating  in  the  air, 
with  the  rainbow  under  her  feet,  is  crowned  by  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  while  over  her  head  hovers  the  Holy  Dove. 

3.  In  the  Vatican  is  the  Coronation  attributed  to  Raphael. 
That  he  designed  the  cartoon,  and  began  the  altar-piece,  for 
the  nuns  of  Monte-Luce,  near  Perugia,  seems  beyond  all  doubt ; 
but  it  is  equally  certain  that  the  picture  as  we  see  it  was 
painted  almost  entirely  by  his  pupils  Giulio  Romano  and  Gian 
Kraiiee.-eo  I'enni.  Here  we  have  the  tomb  below,  filled  with 
flowers;  and  around  it  tin-  Twelve  Apostles ;  John  and  his 
1  imt her  .lames,  in  front,  looking  up;  behind  John,  St.  Peter; 
more  in  the  background,  St.  Thomas  holds  the  girdle.  Above 
is  the  throne  set  in  heaven,  whereon  the  Virgin,  mild  and 
beautiful,  sits  beside  her  divine  Son,  and  with  joined  bands 
and  veiled  head,  and  eyes  meekly  cast  down,  bends  to  receive 


360  HISTORICAL   SUBJECTS 

the  golden  coronet  he  is  ahout  to  place  on  her  brow.  The 
dove  is  omitted,  but  eight  seraphim,  with  rainbow-tinted 
wings,  hover  above  her  head.  On  the  right,  a  most  graceful 
angel  strikes  the  tamborine ;  on  the  left,  another,  equally 
graceful,  sounds  the  viol ;  and,  amidst  a  flood  of  light,  hosts 
of  celestial  and  rejoicing  spirits  till  up  the  background. 

Thus  in  highest  heaven,  yet  not  out  of  sight  of  earth,  in 
beatitude  past  utterance,  in  blessed  fruition  of  all  that  faith 
creates  and  love  desires,  amid  angel  hymns  and  starry  glories, 
ends  the  pictured  life  of  Mary,  Mother  of  our  Lord. 


INDEX   OF   PLACES 


This  Index  does  not  include  the  pictures  of  those  collections  known  to  be  dispersed  (as 
noted  on  page  v.  of  the  Editor's  Preface),  nor  those  in  the  small  private  collections 
which  are  inaccessible  to  the  ordinary  tourist. 


Arx—  Church    of   the    Carmelites:    King 

Rent's  votive  Madonna,  160,  161. 
Amiens — Cathedral :  stall  carvings  of  the 
Life  of  the  Virgin,  201 ;  Joseph  entreat- 
ing the  Virgin's  forgiveness,  237  ;  The 
Saviour  preaching  in  Judaea,  312  ;  Ap- 
parition of  Christ  to  his  Mother,  330  ; 
bas-relief  of  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi, 
201  ;  bas-relief  of  the  Assumption,  339. 
.Museum  :  Allegorical  Annunciation,  216. 
Antwerp  —  Cathedral  :  Rubens,  233,  321. 

Museum  :  Rubens,  196 ;  Titian,  103  note. 
Assisi  :   8.  Francesco :  Cimabue,  342  ;  Gi- 
unta  Pisano,  349. 

Beneventum  —  Cathedral :  sculptured  dec- 
oration representing  St.  Joseph  carry- 
ing the  Cluld,  270. 

Berlin—  Gallery:  Crivelli,  141  ;  Van  Eyck 
brothers,  68,  227  ;  Jan  van  Eyck,  227 ; 
Gentile  da  Fabriano,  132 ;  Giacomo 
Francia,  182;  Gaddi,  327;  Granacci, 
125 ;  Filippo  Lippi,  89  ;  Siena  school, 
353 ;  Squarcione,  169  ;  Roger  van  der 
Weyden,  243  note  ;  Zaganelli,  217. 

Bologna  —  Gallery  :  Annibal  Caracci,  355 ; 
Cesi,  185  ;  Girolamo  da  Cotigiiola,  207  ; 
Francia,  217,  242 ;  Perugino,  142 ; 
Guido  Reni,  58,  80,  98,  155;  Tiarini, 
326. 
Duorno :  Ludovico  Caracci,  326. 
S.  Giacomo :  Lorenzo  Costa,  156. 

BoLOONA(near),  Madonna  della  Guardia,  24. 

Breslau  :  wood  carving  of  the  Annuncia- 
tion, 211. 

Bruges—  St. John's  Hospital:  Memling,144. 

Brussels  :  Rubens,  81. 
Musie:  Rubens,  87,  355,  356. 

Caen —  Museum  :  Perugino,  206. 

Cambridge  —  Filzwilliam  Museum:  Ca- 
racci, 331. 

Capua—  Cathedral:  mosaic,  116. 

Cento      ( 'athedral :  Guercino,  330. 

Chartres  —  Notre  Dame:  architectural 
decoration  representing  Massacre  of 
Innocents,  269. 

Citta  DI  Castello:  St.  Joseph  carrying 
the  Child,  270  note. 

Colmar  —  Cathedral :   Martin  Schoen,  34. 

Cologne — Cathedral:  altar-piece,  211, 
216  ;  shrine  of  three  kings,  253. 


S.  Maria  in  Capitolio :  Apostles  taking 
leave  of  the  Virgin,  334. 
Cremona  :  Antouello  Mellone,  274. 

Dolsach  :  Franz  Defregger,  294. 

Dresden — Gallery:  Correggio,  149,  154- 
150,  247;  Dosso  Dossi,  103;  Fran- 
cia, 258;  Giulio  Romano,  300;  Holbein, 
31,  157;  .after  Moretto,  90  and  note; 
Palma,  180,  181 ;  Raphael,  31 ;  Guido 
Reni,  330;  Paul  Veronese,  260  note, 
311. 

Dulwich  —  Gallery  :  Murillo,  58,  151 ; 
Rembrandt  school,  247  note. 

Faenza  :  Guido  Reni,  107. 
Ferrara  :  Garofalo,  279. 
Florence  —  Annunziata :  Bartolommeo  of 
Florence,  213  ;  Frauciabigio,  52  note  ; 
David  Ghirlandajo,  212  ;  Pontormo,  52 
note  ;  Andrea  del  Sarto,  52,  195,  214. 

Carmine :  Agnolo  Gaddi,  200. 

S.  Croce:  Taddeo  Gaddi,  48,  49,  132, 
188,  190,  192,  194,  198,  206,  261  ;  Giotto, 
50,  76 ;  Mainardi,  50,  352  ;  Giovanni  da 
Milano,  50. 

Duorno:  Donatello,  76  note  ;  Gaddo  Gad- 
di, 75  ;  Nanni  di  Banco,  349. 

£.  Marco:  Fra  Angelico,  93,  218,  313; 
Cavallini,  213  note. 

S.  Maria  Maddelena  de'  Pazzi :  Dorne- 
nico  Puligo,  148. 

S.Maria  Novella:  Cimabue,  14,  119; 
Ghirlandajo,  50,  51,  189,  194,  198,  206, 
207,  343,  352,  353. 

Or  San  Michele :  Francesco  da  San 
Gallo,  136;  Orcagna,  54,  197,  340,349. 

Academy :  Botticelli,  80  ;  Cimabue,  119; 
Giotto  (or  a  pupil),  300  ;  Filippo  Lippi, 
340 ;  Lorenzo  Monaco,  213. 

Bargil/o:  Michael  Angelo,  299. 

Casa  Buonarroti :  Michael  Angelo,  299. 

Foundling  Hospital:  Luca  della  Robbia, 
209. 

Pitti  Palace :  Francesco  Albano,  331 ; 
Fra  Angelico,  149;  Bartolommeo,  144  ; 
Botticelli,  290;  D.  Ghirlandajo,  257; 
Filippino  Lippi,  170  ;  Murillo,  170  ;  Na- 
tivity, by  unknown  painter,  244 ;  Par- 
migiano,  23  ;  Perugino,  323  ;  Raphael, 
37,  69,  149,  104,  168;  Rubens,  300;  V. 
Salimbeni,  300  ;  Andrea  del  Sarto,  225, 


362 


INDEX   OF   PLACES 


358  ;  Bartolommeo  Schidone,  288 ;  Van- 
dyck,  278  ;  C.Vecelli  (replica  of  Titian), 
180 ;  Paul  Veronese,  314. 

Riccardi  Palace:  Benozzo  Gozzoli,  261. 

Ruccellai  Palace :  Francesco  Granacci, 
357. 

Uffizi :  Albertinelli,  233  ;  Fra  Angelico, 
342;  Michael  Augelo,  299;  Botticelli, 
165,  256  ;  Correggio,  177,  178  ;  Albert 
Diirer,  258,  260 ;  Maso  Finiguerra,  83  ; 
Giottino  (?),  325 ;  Leonardo  da  Vinci, 
256 ;  Filippo  Lippi,  178 ;  Mantegna,  172  ; 
Simone  Memini,  52  note,  216,  217 ; 
Raphael,  290 ;  Cosimo  Roselli,  70  ;  An- 
drea del  '  Sarto,  128. 
ForlI  —  S.  Biagio :  Guido  Reni,  105. 

Frankfort  —  Museum :  Moretto,  142,  143. 

Hampton  Court  :  Spagnoletto,  106  ;  Pietro 

da  Cortona,  238. 
Hanover  —  Museum :  Ittenbach,  202. 
Liverpool  —  Museum  :  Sienese  miniature, 
235  note. 

Royal  Institution  :  Simone  Memnii,  306. 
London  —  Royal  Academy  :    Michael  An- 
gelo,  299. ' 

British  Museum :  print  of  allegorical 
Annunciation,  216. 

Bridgewaler  Gallery  (Lord  Ellesmere) : 
Raphael,  168, 292  ;  copy  after,  295  note  ; 
Guido  Reni.  104,  200,  356 ;  Schidone, 
304 ;  Vandyck,  170. 

Grosvenor  Gallery  (Duke  of  Westmin- 
ster) :  Poussin,  278,  279 ;  Rembrandt, 
234. 

Lansdowne  House:  Ludovico  Caracci, 
36 ;  Murillo,  106 ;  Andrea  del  Sarto, 
299. 

National  Gallery:  Baroccio,  37,  127; 
Bellini,  174 ;  Bellini  school  (or  Vin- 
cenzo  Catena),  163 ;  Bertucci  of  Faenza, 
132  note  ;  Ambrogio  Borgognone,  145; 
Botticelli,  244  ;  Correggio,  60,  298,  316  ; 
Carlo  Crivelli,  129;  Franria,  95,  134, 
135 ;  Benozzo  Gozzoli,  147,  150,  151 ; 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  174  ;  Lorenzo  di  San 
Severino,  144 ;  Mola,  279  ;  Murillo,  285  ; 
Perugino,  140,  177  ;  attributed  to,  165  ; 
Baldassare  Peruzzi,  257,  258  ;  Raphael, 
290 ;  Guido  Reni,  356  ;  Rossetti,  202, 
228  ;  Andrea  del  Sarto,  299  ;  Titian.  ISO  ; 
Marcello  Venusti  (after  Michael  Au- 
gelo), 137  ;  Paul  Veronese,  260  note. 

Queen's  Gallery :  Michael  Angelo  (copy 
by  Marcello  Venusti),  96  ;  Rembrandt, 
261  ;  Rubens,  356. 

Sutherland  Gallery    (Stafford    House) : 
Death    of    the    Virgin,    after     Albert 
Diirer,  344  note  ;  Pellegrino,  149. 
Loretto  —  Casa:  Sansovino,  54,  219. 
Lucca  —  Gallery:  Bartolommeo,  91. 
S.  Frediano  :  Francia,  108. 

Madrid  —  Gallery  (the  Prado) :  Raphael 
Mengs,  249 ;  Murillo,  58,  59,  196,  300 ; 
Raphael,  139,  140,  231,  315;  Rubens, 
260;  Velasquez,  81. 

Marseilles  —  Musie  :  Perugino,  297. 

Milan  —  Cathedral :  Bas-reliefs,  54. 
S.  Maurizio :  Luini,  310. 


Brera  :  Bernardino  de'  Conti,  157  ;  Am- 
brogio Borgognone,  357  ;  Carpaccio, 
198 ;  Girolamo  Genga,  143  note  ;  Luini, 
34  note,  54,  189,  190, 200,  201,  207,  208, 
236 ;  Palma  (and  Cariani),  258 ;  Ra- 
phael, 206 ;  Giovanni  Sanzio,  216  ;  Scar- 
sellino,  143  note  ;  Cesare  da  Sesto,  34  ; 
Paul  Veronese,  260  note,  311. 

Monreale—  Cathedral:  sculptured  deco- 
ration representing  St.  Joseph  carry- 
ing the  Child,  270. 

Monte  Pulciano  —  Church  of  Miser  i- 
cordia :  Pietro  Lorenzetti,  76. 

Munich  —  Gallery  :  Gerard  David,  256, 
257 ;  Death  of  the  Virgin,  after  Albert 
Diirer,  344  note  ;  Death  of  the  Virgin, 
several  pictures  of,  345  note ;  Van 
Eyck,  227  ;  Francia,  34, 177, 178  ;  Mem- 
ling,  55  note,  272  ;  Raphael,  168  ;  Guido 
Reni,  356 ;  Francisco  Ribalta,  327  note  ; 
Hans  Schaufelein,  341 ;  Roger  van  der 
Weyden,  268. 
Leuchtenberg  Gallery  :  Giovanni  Bellini, 

164. 
Schleissheim  Gallery  :  Schoen,  86. 

Naples  —  Museum  :  Raphael  (copy  of),  295 
note. 

New  York—  Metropolitan  Art  Gallery: 
Rubens,  307. 

Nuremberg  —  Lorenz  Kirche :  Architectu- 
ral decoration  representing  Massacre 
of  Innocents,  269  note. 

Orvieto  —  Cathedral :  Madonna  di  San  Bri- 

zio,  121,  122;  Mocchi,  225. 
Oxford  —  Bodleian  Library  :  Office  of  the 
Virgin,  201  note. 
Museum :  Raphael,  82. 

Padua  —  Chapel  of  Arena  :  Giotto,  47,  54, 
190,  205  note,   206  and  note,  207,  270, 
332. 
S.  Giustina  :  Bissoni,  334. 

Paitone  :  Moretto,  90  note. 

Paris  —  National  Library  :  Finiguerra,  84  ; 
Arabic  MS.,  307  note. 
Louvre :  Ippolito  Andreasi,  300 ;  Fra 
Angelico,  76 ;  Bartolommeo,  144,  217  ; 
Beltraffio,  243  note ;  Le  Brun,  301  ; 
Annibal  Caracci,  292  ;  Caravaggio,  346 ; 
Lorenzo  di  Credi,  80;  Domenichino, 
276 ;  Van  Eyck,  161  ;  D.  Ghirlandajo, 
231  note;  Ridolfo  Ghirlandajo,  80; 
Giulio  Romano. 243  ;  Leonardoda  Vinci, 
135,  295 ;  Leonardo  school,  175;  Filippo, 
Lippi,  340,  341  ;  Lorenzo  di  Pavia, 
297  ;  Andrea  Mantegna,  153  ;  Murillo, 
106  ;  Sebastian  del  Piombo,  231  ;  Pous- 
sin, 59  ;  Raphael,  95  note,  290,  298,  323 
note ;  Rembrandt,  301 ;  Andrea  del 
Sarto,  299  ;  Solario,  2S8  ;  Tiarini,  237  ; 
Titian,  37,  165  note,  181,  324. 
Luxembourg:  Bouguereau,  87  note. 
Notr/1  Dame:  Sculpture,  237;  Assump- 
tion of  the  Virgin,  339. 

Parma  —  Gallery :  Agostino  Caracci,  288  ; 
Ludovico  Caracci,  347  ;  Correggio,  143, 
276. 
Duoino :  Correggio,  354. 

Perugia  :  Greek  Madonna,  167, 108. 


INDEX   OF   PLACES 


363 


Pisa  —  S.    Maria    della  Spina:   Niccol6 
Pisano.  121 
Campo  Santo:  Mardo   Daddi,  80  note; 
Simone  Memmi,  OS  ;  Andrea  Orcagna 
(attributed  to),  86  note. 

Pistoia  —  .v.   Andrea:  Sculptured  Adora- 
tion, 254  note. 

Prato—  Cathedral:  AgnoloGaddi,  54,350- 
352. 

Ravenna  —  Archiepiscopal  Chapel:    mo- 
saic, GO. 

S.  ApoUinare  Xttovo :  mosaic,  131 ;  mo- 
saic, 254. 

S.  Maria  in  Porto :  mosaic,  G6. 

Mausoleum   of  Galla  Placidia :   Sarco- 
phagus    sculpture    of     Adoration     of 
Kings,  254. 
Rem agen  —  St.  Apollinaris  :  frescoes,  38. 
Rheims  :  tapestry,  200. 
Rome  —  The  Vatican  :  Raphael,  257. 

(Sistine  Chapel),  Michael  Angelo,  87. 

(Appartameuti  Borgia),  Pinturicchio, 
20,232. 

(Picture  Gallery),  Pinturicchio,  77,  80  ; 
Raphael,  GO,  15S,  159,  359  ;  Titian,  154. 

(Gallery  of  Tapestries),  Raphael,  82. 

(Camera  della  Segnatura),  Raphael,  21, 
69. 

(The  Loggia),  Raphael,  248. 

(Christian  Museum),  sculptured  Adora- 
tion of  Magi,  253 ;  Death  of  the  Vir- 
gin, :u-\ 

Ara-Cfeli:  Greek  Madonna,  1G8;  bas- 
relief,  238. 

SI.  John  Lateran  :  mosaics,  G5  ;  mosaics, 
6G. 

S.  Maria  in  Cosmedino :  Greek  Madonna, 
168. 

S.  Maria  Maggiore:  Borghese  chapel 
decorations,  00-62 ;  mosaic,  Coronation, 
74,  75  ;  mosaic,  Annunciation,  222  ;  mo- 
saic, Adoration,  254. 

S.  Maria  sopra  Minerva'  Benozzo 
Gozzoli,  218. 

8.  Maria  della  Navicella:  mosaic,  117. 

S.  Maria  Nuova  (Santa  Francesca) : 
mosaic,  117. 

S.  Maria  del  Popolo:  Pinturicchio,  51, 
202. 

S.  Maria  in  Trastevere :  mosaic,  Corona- 
tion, 74,  84;  mosaic,  Virgin  and  Child, 
117. 

»S'.  Ono/rlo :  Pinturicchio  (or  Peruzzi), 
272  and  note. 

Si.  Peter's:  Michael  Angelo,  40,94,96; 
Biaochl,  107  ;  (sacristy),  dalmatica,  08. 

TrinUhde1  Monti:  Daniel  di  Volterra, 
321. 

■S'.   '/.,  an  :  mosaic,  117. 

Borqhesp  Gallery:  School  of  Francia, 
143;  Raphael,  323  note,  324. 

Capitol:  Cola  dell1  Amatrice,  345,346. 

Colonna  Palact  i  Niccoli  Alunno,  02. 

Quirinal  Chapel:  Guido  Rent,  104. 
Rouen  —  Museum:  Van    Eyck    (or    Mem- 
ling),  Votive  Madonna,  100. 


San  Sepolcro  :  Piero  della  Francesca,  90. 
Seville  —  Museum :  Murillo,  00,  100 ;  Roe- 
las,  105. 
Siena  :  Madonna  del  Voto,  153. 

Oratory  of  San  Bernardino  :  Bazzi,  52, 
53 ;    Beccafumi,    52 ;     Girolamo     del 
Pacchia,  52. 
Cathedral :  sculptured  pilasters,  47  note. 
<S.  Domenico :  Guido  da  Siena,  118. 
S.  Quirico  :  Francesco  Vanni,  283. 
Academy  :  Pinturicchio,  298,  299. 
Fonte  Giusla:  Baldassare  Peruzzi,  238, 

239. 
Palazzo  Pubblico:  Taddeo  Bartolo,  47, 
48,  342,  346.  353. 
Spello  :  Pinturicchio,  306  and  note. 
Spoleto —  Duomo:  Filippo  Lippi,  82,  359. 
St.   Petersburg  —  Hermitage :     Murillo, 
294  ,  Raphael,  GO  note,  169,  175 ;  Rem- 
brandt, 294  ;  Guido  Reni.  104. 
Leuchlenberg   Gallery :   Murillo  (attrib- 
uted to),  170  note. 
Strasburg  —  Library  :  Hortus  Deliciarum, 
80  and  note. 

Torcello  —  Cathedral :  mosaic,  85  note. 
Treves  —  Cathedral :  bas-relief,  80. 
Turin  —  Gallery :  Memling,  55  note. 

Varallo  —  Church    of  Minorites  :    Gau- 

denzio  Ferrari,  275. 
Venice  —  Carmine  :  Cima  da  Conegliano, 
242. 

<S.  Chiara :  plan  of  altar-piece,  44. 

S.  Francesco  della  Vigna :  Antonio  da 
Negroponte,  34  note,  128. 

Frari:  Titian,  102. 

Academy:  Giovanni  Bellini,  124,  104; 
Bonifazio  Veneziano,  134 ;  Carpaccio, 
192;  Benedetto  Diana,  149  note;  Gio- 
vanni and  Antonio  da  Murano,  79  note, 
142  note  ;  Palma  Vecchio,  355  ;  Porde- 
none,  151;  Titian,  198,354,  355;  Gio- 
vanni da  Udine,  306 ;  Paul  Veronese, 
137  ;  Alvise  Vivarini,  136. 

School  of  Charity  :  bas-relief,  89,  90. 

School    of  S.   Roch:    Tintoretto,    223, 
318. 
Vercelli  —  S.  Cristoforo  :  Gaudenzio  Fer- 
rari, 354. 
Verona  —  Gallery:  Cavazzola,  150. 

S.  Bernardino :  Carotto,  314. 
Vienna  —  Belvedere:  Caravaggio,  151  ;  Ti- 
tian, 165,293;  German  Madonna,  105, 
166  ;  Carlo  Cignani,  170  ;  Raphael,  175  ; 
Paul  Veronese,  200  note ;  Giorgione, 
262  ;  Fra  Bartolommeo,  266  ;  Domenico 
Feti,  283 ;  Carlo  Maratti.  308. 

Lichtenstein  Gallery  :  St.  Anna  and  the 
Virgin,  190  ;  Vandyck,  323  ,  Apparition 
of  Christ  to  his  Mother,  330. 

Eltt  rhazi/    Gallery  •    Lazaro    Tavarone, 
105;  Carducho,  150  note. 
Weimar  :  old  German   Annnnciation,  216 

note. 
Windsob  :  Titian,  199  note  \  Garofalo,  293. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Adoration  of  Magi  (or  Kings),  250-262 ; 
legend  of,  250-253  ;  religious  significance 
of,  253;  represented  with  Adoration  of 
Shepherds,  255 ;  question  as  to  the  time 
of,  263. 

Adoration  of  Shepherds,  248,  249  ;  repre- 
sented with  Adoration  of  Magi,  255. 

Albano,  Francesco,  painted  his  wife  as  the 
Madonna,  26 ;  Apparition  of  Christ  to 
his  Mother.  331. 

Albertinelli,  Mariotto,  Visitation  by,  233, 
234 ;  Nativity,  242. 

Alden,  Henry  M.,  God  in  His  World  cited, 
3  note. 

Allori,  Cristofano,  Madonna  by,  172. 

Altar-pieces,  described,  42,  43 ;  examples 
of,  43-45. 

Alunno,  Niccold  del,  Madonna  of  Mercy, 
92. 

Aruatrice,  Cola  dell',  Death  of  the  Virgin, 
345. 

Andreasi,  Ippolito,  Holy  Family,  300. 

Angelico,  Fra  (Giovanni  da  Fiesole),  Coro- 
nation, 75  note,  76  ;  Stabat  Mater,  93  ; 
St.  Augustine,  149  ;  Marriage  of  the  Vir- 
gin, 203,  206 ;  Annunciation,  218  ;  Annun- 
ciation, 224  ;  Adoration  of  Magi,  256 ; 
Transfiguration,  313;  Last  Supper,  313; 
Death  of  the  Virgin,  342  ;  Entombment 
of  the  Virgin,  347  ;  Assumption  of  the 
Virgin,  attributed  to,  357  note. 

Angels,  represented  in  Madonna  pictures, 
39,  40, 131, 132  ;  as  ministers  on  the  Flight 
into  Egypt,  270. 

Animals,  in  sacred  art,  37 ;  significance  of 
the  Nativity,  246. 

Anna,  the  Prophetess,  her  relation  to  the 
Presentation  in  the  Temple,  264. 

Anna,  St.,  her  place  in  Madonna  pictures, 
135, 136 ;  legend  of,  with  Joachim,  13, 1S4- 
192 ;  English  churches  dedicated  to,  185 
note  ;  Annunciation  to,  represented,  190  ; 
altercation  with  Judith,  represented,  190; 
meeting  with  Joachim,  190-192 ;  intro- 
duced into  Holy  Family,  294,295;  tradi- 
tion of  her  three  marriages,  296. 

Annunciation,  the,  209-228  ;  as  a  mystery, 
211-219  ;  as  an  event,  219-228. 

Antonio,  Marc,  see  Raimondi. 

Apostles,  represented  in  Madonna  pictures, 
39,  133  ;  carry  body  of  the  Virgin  to  the 
tomb,  346-347. 

Apple,  symbolism  in  art,  36.  • 

Arabian  work,  on  History  of  Joseph, 
quoted,  307,  308. 

Arnobius,  the  younger,  his  commentary  on 
the  Psalms  cited,  261. 

Ascension,  the,  332. 


Assumption  of  the  Virgin,  legend  of,  13, 
46,  336-339  ;  scenes  afforded  by,  339 ;  as 
the  expression  of  a  dogma,  348  ;  as  the 
consummation  of  the  Virgin's  life,  348 ; 
treatment  of,  in  art,  352-358. 

Augustine,  St.,  Sermons  quoted,  4. 

Auxiliuui  Christianorum,  introduction  of, 
23. 

Ave  Maria,  introduction  of,  13. 

Baillet,  cited,  100 ;  his  Fetes  Mobiles  quoted, 
322  note. 

Barbara,  St.,  in  Madonna  pictures,  145. 

Baroccio,  Federigo,  Madonna  by,  37,  127 ; 
Annunciation,  222  ;  Riposo,  276. 

Bartolo,  Taddeo,  Death  of  the  Virgin,  47, 
48,  342  ;  use  of  olive  in  Annunciation, 
217 ;  Apostles  carry  the  body  of  the 
Virgin  to  the  tomb,  346 ;  Assumption  of 
the  Virgin,  353. 

Bartolommeo  (of  Florence)  Annunciation 
attributed  to,  213. 

Bartolommeo  (Baccio  della  Porta),  Miseri- 
cordia  di  Lucca,  91  ;  two  Madonnas  in 
Trono,  144;  Madonna,  170;  Annuncia- 
tion, 217 ;  Presentation,  266. 

Bartolozzi,  engraving  after  Vandyck,  288. 

Bartsch,  Adam,  Le  Peintre  Graveur  cited, 
40  note,  262  note,  301. 

Bazzi,  G.  A.,  Presentation  of  the  Virgin  in 
the  Temple,  52  ;  Visitation,  53 ;  Assump- 
tion, 53  ;  Coronation,  53. 

Beccafumi,  Domenico,  Sposalizio  by,  52  ; 
Enthroned  Virgin  and  Child,  52. 

Bellini,  Giovanni,  Madonna  by,  124  ;  char- 
acteristics of,  163,  164 ;  three  Madonnas 
by,  164  ;  his  excellence  in  Mater  Ama- 
bilis,  169  ;  Madonna  by,  174. 

Bellini  School,  Madonna,  163. 

Beltraffio,  Gio.  Antonio,  Votive  Madonna, 
243  note. 

Bernard,  St.,  cited,  15;  quoted,  34  note, 
245 ;  author  of  Salve  Rrgina,  62  ;  his  dis- 
approbation of  the  festival  of  the  Immac- 
ulate Conception,  100  ;  his  objections  to 
the  invocation  of  saints  born  before 
Christ,  184  ;  his  account  of  the  Annun- 
ciation, 225. 

Bernardino  dei  Conti,  Madonna  of  Ludo- 
vico  Sforza  il  Moro,  156, 157. 

Bertucci  of  Faenza,  Glorification  of  the 
Virgin,  132  note- 

Bianchi,  Pietro,  Immaculate  Conception, 
107. 

Bianchi,  Dr.  Giuseppe,  his  work  on  the 
Prato  frescoes  cited,  350  note. 

Bible,  quoted,  28,  29,  32-35,  38-41,  61, 
69,  73,  74,  82,  107  note,  109,  116,  134, 


GENERAL  INDEX 


3G5 


137,  166,  175,  193  note,  220,  225,  22G, 
228,  230,  241.  244,  24(1-248.  2.10.  2.1 1,  2.12, 
263,  204.  208,  269,  271,  284,  280.  290,  296 
note.  300,  306,  307,309,312,  317  note, 
327,  330,  14,  345  ;  cited,  93, 192 

note.  198  note,  245,  201,  304,  313. 

Birds,  their  symbolism  in  art,  37,  127. 

Bodenhausen,  Madonna  by,  130  note. 

Bonasone,  Giulio,  Wise  Slen  watching  for 
Star,  202  note ;  engraving  after  Parmi- 
giano,  347. 

Bouaventura,  St..  cited,  15,  303. 

Bonifazio,  the  Virgin  in  Glory,  134  ;  Ma- 
donna, is] . 

Bonvicino,  see  Moretto. 

Book,  symbolism  of.  3.1,  30 ;  examples  of, 
significance  in  art,  08,  70,  124,  125. 

Borbeg,  K.  F.,  Neu  Testamenlicken  Apo- 
leryphen  cited,  307  note. 

Bordoue,  Paris,  Madonna  by,  181. 

Borgognone,  Ambrogio,  Marriage  of  St. 
Catherine,  145 ;  Assumption  of  the 
Virgin,  357. 

Bosio,  cited,  12  note,  230. 

Botticelli,  Saudro,  Coronation  by,  80  ; 
Madonna  of  the  Ink  Horn,  1G5 ;  Na- 
tivity, 243;  Adoration  of  Magi,  256; 
Holy  Family,  290. 

Bouguereau,  w.  A.,  Vierge  Cousolatrice, 
87  note  ;  Madonna  by,  130. 

Browning,  Elizabeth  Barrett,  quoted,  289. 

Browning,  Robert,  quoted,  32. 

Brim,  Le,  Charles,  Immaculate  Conception, 
107  ;  Benedicite,  301. 

Buonarroti,  Michael  Angelo,  his  genius 
allied  to  Dante,  22  ;  l'i.-t.i,  40,  94  ;  Pieta, 
90  ;  Last  Judgment,  87  ;  Holy  Family, 
137  ;  Annunciation,  227  ;  Visitation, 
230  ;  Silenzio,  289  ;  three  Holy  Families, 
299. 

Burne-Jones,  Sir  E.,  Annunciation  by,  228. 

Byron,  quoted,  220  note. 

Cambiaso,  Luca,  Holy  Family,  288. 

Cana.  see  Marriage. 

Capanna,  Puccio,  Madonna  and  Child,  122. 

Caracci,  Apparition  of  Christ  to  his  Mother, 
331. 

Caracci,  Agostino,  Madonna  by,  288 ;  As- 
sumption, 355. 

Caracci,  Annibal,  his  Coronation  of  the 
Virgin,  80 ;  as  student  of  Correggio,  81  ; 
Adoration  of  Shepherds,  248  ;  first  to  in- 
troduce boat  into  Flight  into  Egypt,  274  ; 
Vi'-rge  aux  Cerises,  202  :  "  Le  Raboteur," 
'J!>4  ;  Four  .Muies,  323  ;  Assumption  of 
the  Virgin.  356 

Caracci,  Ludovico,  Madonna  by,  36  ;  Ado- 
ration of  Shepherds,  248 ;  tbe  Virgin  la- 
mentingthe  Death  of  tbe  Saviour,  326; 
Death  of  the  Virgin,  310  :  Apostles  carry 
tin-  body  of  the  Virgin  to  tin-  tomb,  347. 

Caracci,  Influence  of  their  school,  23  :  their 
treatment  of  tin-  Hater  Amabilis,  170. 

Caraglio,  Gio.  Oiacomo,  Holy  Family,  13.1. 

Oaravaggio,  Michael  Angelo  Amerighi  da. 
Madonna  of  the  Eto  ftry,  151  ;  Death  of 
the  Virgin,  340. 

Carducho,  quoted,  1- 

Cardm iho,  VincenzO)  tin-  Virgin  on  the  tree 
Of  life,  150. 


Cariani,  Giovanni  de'  Busi,  completed 
Palma's  Adoration  of  Magi,  258. 

Carmine,  Madonna  del,  151. 

Carotto,  Christ  taking  leave  of  his  Mother, 
314. 

Carpaccio,  Vittore,  Meeting  of  Joachim 
and  Anna,  192 ;  Presentation  of  the 
Virgin,  198. 

Catherine,  St.,  in  Madonna  pictures,  143- 
14.1. 

Cavallini,  Piero,  Annunciations  by,  213 
note. 

Cavazzola,  Paolo  (or  Morando),  the  Virgin 
in  Glory,  149, 150. 

Cerezo,  Matteo  de,  two  pictures  of  the 
Virgin  in  cherry-tree,  150  note. 

Cesare  da  Sesto,  Madonna  by,  34. 

Cesi,  Vision  of  St   Anna,  185. 

Champaigue,  Philippe  de,  Mater  Dolorosa, 
94,  95. 

Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  quoted,  17. 

Cheliui,  Piero,  Deposition  attributed  to  by 
Von  Rumohr,  325  note. 

Christ,  medieval  explanation  of  his  mirac- 
ulous birth,  4  ;  represented  in  the  Coro- 
nation of  the  Virgin,  73-81  ;  nativity  of, 
237-247  ;  adoration  of,  by  shepherds,  248, 
249  ;  adoration  of,  by  Magi,  250-262  ;  pres- 
entation of,  in  temple,  202-268  ;  among 
the  doctors,  304-307 ;  his  traditionary 
account  of  Joseph's  death,  308 ;  repre- 
sented in  the  marriage  at  Cana,  309-312  ; 
ministry  of,  312,  313 ;  taking  leave  of  his 
mother,  313;  his  bearing  of  the  cross, 
315-317  ;  his  crucifixion,  317-319 ;  his  de- 
scent from  the  cross,  319-322  ;  his  depo- 
sition, 322-324;  his  entombment,  324; 
apparition  of,  to  his  mother,  328-331 ; 
ascension  of,  332  ;  represented  in  death 
of  the  Virgin,  342. 

Christopher,  St.,  in  Madonna  pictures,  146. 

Ciampini,  Giovanni  Giustino,  cited,  116 
note. 

Cicognara,  Sloria  delta  Scultura  Moderna 
cited,  121. 

Cignani,  Carlo,  Madonna  and  Child,  170. 

Cimabue,  Ruccellai  Madonna,  14,  119,  120, 
131;  Academy  Madonna,  119,  132;  An- 
nunciation, 224  ;  Visitation,  230 ;  Death 
of  the  Virgin,  342. 

Coleridge,  S.  T.,  his  translation  of  a  Latin 
verse  on  Flemish  print,  302  note. 

Conegliano,  Cima  da,  Nativity  by,  242. 

Constance,  council  of,  influence  on  worship 
of  the  Virgin,  19. 

Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  72-84,  358-360 ; 
legend  brought  from  East,  13  ;  devotional 
treatment  distinguished  from  historical, 
72,  358,  359  ;  examples  of  treatment,  73- 
84,  359,  360. 

Correggio,  Antonio  Allegri,  "  Vierge  au 
Panier,"  00,  298  ;  "  The  Day,"  143  ;  Ma- 
donna with  St.  Francis,  149;  Madonna  of 
St.  Sebastian,  154 ;  Madonna  of  St. 
George,  155,  1.10;  Madre  Pia,  177,178; 
'■La  Notte,"247;  "  Madonna  della  Sco- 
della,"  276;  Madonna,  288;  Ecce  Homo, 
316,  317  ;  Assumption  of  the  Virgin,  354. 

Cortona,  Pietro  da,  Sibyl's  Prophecy,  23*. 

•  'osta,  Lorenzo,  Madonna  della  Famiglia 
Beutivoglio,  1.10  ;  Adoration  of  Magi,  261. 


366 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Cotiguola,  Francesco  da,  see  Zaganelli. 

Cotiguola,  Girolaino,  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion, 109, 110  ;  notes  on  life  and  style,  111 
note  ;  Sposalizio,  207. 

Cranach,  Lucas,  two  paintings  of  the  Re- 
pose in  Egypt,  277,  278. 

Credi,  Lorenzo  di,  altar-piece,  80 ;  St.  Ju- 
lian and  St.  Nicholas,  80 ;  excelled  in 
Madre  Pia,  176 ;  excelled  in  poetical 
version  of  Nativity,  242. 

Crespi,  Daniele,  Portamento  della  Croce, 
316. 

Crivelli,  Carlo,  his  use  of  gold,  12G ;  Ma- 
donna, 129 ;  altar-piece,  141. 

Crosnier,  l'Abbe,  his  Iconographie.  Chre- 
tienne  cited,  125  note. 

Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle  cited,  132  note,  165 
note  ;  their  Raphael  cited,  59  note,  82 
note  ;  their  History  of  Painting  in  North 
Italy  cited,  79  note,  142  note,  149  note, 
150  note,  179  note ;  their  History  of 
Painting  in  Italy  cited,  272  note,  306 
note,  325  note. 

Crucifixion,  the,  317-319  ;  the  fifth  sorrow 
of  the  Virgin,  317. 

Crusades,  influence  on  art,  13. 

Curtis,  Charles  B.,  his  Velasquez  and  Mu- 
rillo  cited,  170  uote. 

Cyril  of  Alexandria,  his  part  in  Nestorian 
controversy,  10,  114,  115. 

Daddi,  Nardo,  Last  Judgment,  86  note. 

D'Agiucourt,  see  Seroux. 

Dagnau-Bouveret,  Madonna  by,  173. 

Damascene,  St.  John,  as  defender  of  sacred 
images,  11. 

Dante,  quoted,  4  note,  16,  17,  30,  56  note, 
224, 226, 306,  358 ;  his  influence  on  Italian 
art,  15 ;  his  genius  allied  to  Michael  An- 
gelo,  22  ;  cited,  38. 

David,  Gerard,  worship  of  the  Magi,  256. 

Defregger,  Franz,  Madonna  by,  130  note; 
Holy  Family,  294. 

Delaroche,  Paul,  Deposition  by,  324. 

Dennistoun,  Dukes  of  Urbino  cited,  110 
note. 

Deposition,  the,  322-324. 

De  Rossi,  cited,  8,  113  note. 

Descent  from  the  Cross,  319-322. 

Diana,  Benedetto,  Virgin  and  Child  en- 
throned, 149  note. 

Didron  cited,  200,  266  ;  his  Christian  Icono- 
graphy cited,  12,  85  and  note,  190  ;  his 
Manual  of  Greek  Art  quoted,  310. 

Diptych,  defined,  43. 

Dispute  in  the  Temple,  304-307. 

Domenichino,  painted  his  daughter  as  the 
Madonna,  26  ;  Riposo  by,  276  ;  death  of 
the  Virgin,  346. 

Donatello,  window  designed  by,  76  note  ; 
Nativities,  242. 

Dossi,  Dosso,  Vision  of  the  Four  Fathers, 
104. 

Dove,  symbolism  in  art,  36,  37. 

Dream  of  Joseph,  see  Joseph. 

Dress,  of  Virgin,  see  Virgin  Mary  ;  of  Christ 
Child,  126. 

Duns  Scotus,  as  champion  of  the  Virgin, 

100,  106. 
Diirer,  Albert,   Life  of  the  Virgin,  54,  200 ; 
Madonna,    171,   172  ;   Joachim    rejected 


from  the  Temple,  189 ;  Joachim  receiving 
the  Annunciation  of  the  Angel ,  190  ;  meet- 
ing of  Joachim  and  Anna,  191  ;  Birth  of 
the  Virgin,  194 ;  Presentation  of  the 
Virgin,  198,200  ;  Annunciation,  223,  224; 
Adoration  of  Magi,  258 ;  Flight  into 
Egypt,  270  ;  Repose  in  Egypt,  278 ;  Holy 
Family,  300;  Christ  among  the  Doctors, 
307  ;  Christ  taking  leave  of  his  Mother, 
313,  314  ;  Crucifixion,  318,  319  ;  Descent 
from  the  Cross,  321 ;  Deposition,  323 ; 
Apparition  of  Christ  to  his  Mother,  330, 
331  ;  two  pictures  of  Death  of  the  Virgin, 
343,  344  ;  Assumption  of  the  Virgin,  354  ; 
Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  359. 

Edelinck,  engraving  of  Le  Brun's  Bene- 
dicite,  301. 

Education  of  the  Virgin,  196. 

Elizabeth,  character  of,  229 ;  introduced 
into  Holy  Family,  295. 

Entombment,  of  Christ,  324  ;  of  the  Virgin, 
347. 

Ephesus,  Council  of,  10,  115,  117. 

Etruria  Pittrice  cited,  148,  299  note,  347, 
357  note. 

Evangelists,  represented  in  Madonna  pic- 
tures, 39,  133. 

Eyck,  Van,  the  brothers,  Ghent  altar- 
piece,  68  and  note,  69. 

Eyck,  John  van,  his  tendency  to  portrai- 
ture in  sacred  subjects,  2  note  ;  Madonna 
(attributed  to),  123, 124  ;  votive  Madonna 
(attributed  to),  160 ;  Vierge  au  Donateur, 
161 ;  Annunciation,  221,  227  ;  Ghent  An- 
nunciation, 227. 

Fabriano,  Gentile  da,  Madonna  by,  132. 

Farrar,  F.  W.,  Life  of  Christ  in  Art,  cited, 
228. 

Ferrari,  Gaudenzio,  introduced  court  dwarf 
into  Adoration  of  Kings,  255 ;  Flight  into 
Egypt,  275 :  Portamento  della  Croce, 
316;  Assumption  of  the  Virgin,  354. 

Feti,  Domenico,  Return  from  Egypt,  283. 

Finiguerra,  Maso,  his  pyx,  82. 

Flaxman,  Annunciation  by,  226. 

Flight  into  Egypt,  268-275 ;  general  treat- 
ment of,  270,  271 ;  legends  connected 
with,  271-274. 

Florentine  School,  Immaculate  Conception, 
103. 

Flos  Sanctorum,  cited,  101,  250  note. 

Forster,  Ernst,  Denkmale  der  Deuischen 
Kunst,  cited,  124  note. 

Francesca,  Piero  della,  Madonna  di  Miseri- 
cordia,  89,  90. 

Francia,  Francesco  Raibolini,  Madonna, 
34  ;  Pieta,  95 ;  Predestination  of  the  Vir- 
gin, 108;  Madonna,  134,  135;  Madre 
Pia,  177,  178 ;  Annunciation,  217 ;  ex- 
celled in  poetical  version  of  Nativity, 
242 ;  Presentation  in  the  Temple,  266, 
267. 

Francia,  Giacomo,  Madonna  and  Saints, 
182. 

Francia,  school  of,  Madonna,  143. 

Franciabigio,  frescoes  in  Annunziata,  52 
note. 

Frizzoni  cited,  132  note,  272  note. 

Froschl,  treatment  of  Mater  Amabilis,  171. 


GENERAL   INDEX 


367 


Gaddi,  Agnolo,  History  of  Holy  Girdle,  54, 
350-352;  the  Virgin  iu  the  Temple,  200; 
Nativity,  247. 

Gaddi,  Gaddo,  mosaic,  75. 

Gaddi,  Taddeo,  Life  of  the  Virgin,  48,  49; 
Madonna,  132 ;  Joachim  rejected  from 
the  Temple,  188;  Joachim  receiving  the 
Annunciation  of  the  Angel,  190  ;  meeting 
of  Joachim  and  Anna,  192  ;  Birth  of  the 
Virgin,  194 ;  Presentation  of  the  Virgin, 
197;  Marriage  of  the  Virgin,  206;  The 
Wise  Men  and  the  Star,  251  ;  Baptism  of 
the  Magi  by  St.  Thomas,  'Jul  ;  the  Virgin 
and  St.  John,  327. 

Garden,  significance  of,  34. 

Garofalo,  Madonna  by,  127 ;  Marriage  of 
St.  Catherine,  144  ;  Annunciation,  222  ; 
Sibyl's  Prophecy,  238  ;  Riposo,  279  ;  Holy 
Family,  293  ;  Christ  among  the  Doctors, 
306. 

Gaye,  Carleggio,  298  note. 

Geminiano,  St.,  significance  of,  in  Madonna 
pictures,  154,  156. 

Genga,  Girolamo,  the  Virgin  attended  by 
Four  Doctors,  143  note. 

George,  St.,  in  Madonna  pictures,  14(5, 154  ; 
in  Correggio's  Madonna  di  San  Giorgio, 
156. 

Gerson,  his  defence  of  worship  of  the  Vir- 
gin, 19 ;  his  poem  iu  praise  of  St.  Joseph, 
292. 

Ghirlandajo,  David,  Annunciation  by,  212. 

Ghirlandajo,  Domenico,  his  tendency  to 
portraiture  in  sacred  subjects,  21  note  ; 
Life  of  the  Virgin,  50,  51 ;  Joachim  re- 
jected from  the  Temple,  189;  Birth  of  the 
Virgin,  194  ;  Presentation  of  the  Virgin, 
198;  Marriage  of  the  Virgin,  206,  207; 
Visitation,  231  ;  Adoration  of  the  Magi, 
257  ;  Death  of  the  Virgin,  343  ;  Legend 
of  the  Girdle,  352;  Assumption  of  the 
Virgin,  353. 

Ghirlandajo,  Ridolfo,  Coronation,  80  ;  meet- 
ing of  Joachim  and  Anna,  192. 

Giordano,  Luca,  Flight  into  Egypt,  274. 

Giorgione,  Die  drei  morgenlandisehen  Wei- 
sen,  261,  262  ;  Riposo  attributed  to,  279. 

Giottino,  Holy  Family  attributed  to  by 
Rosini,  290 ;  Deposition  attributed  to, 
325. 

Giotto,  Arena  chapel  frescoes,  47,  54  ; 
paintings  of  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  50, 
76;  Madonna,  147  ;  Joachim  receiving  the 
Annunciation  of  the  Angel,  190 ;  Suitors 
of  the  Virgin,  205  note  ;  three  scenes  from 
the  Marriage  of  the  Virgin,  206  and  note  ; 
Return  ot  Marriage  Procession,  207; 
Flight  into  Egypt,  270;  Christ  among 
the  Doctors,  attributed  to,  305,  306 ; 
Ascension,  332  ;  Death  of  the  Virgin,  342. 

Giovanni  di  S:m  Giovanni,  Encounter  with 
the  Bobbers,  274. 

Girdle,  the  Holy,  legend  of,  349  352. 

GiuHo,  Romano,  Virgin  with  archangels, 
llo.  Nativity,  243;  La  Madonna  del 
Ba<  Ino, 

Globe,  symbolism  of,  to  art,  35. 

Goethe,  cited,  2SK,  330. 

Golden  Legend,  compiled,  15. 
B  rrl,  Thetaurut  cited,  240,  note. 
Qotpel  of  Infancy,  cited,  46,  273. 


Gozzoli,  Benozzo,  Madonna  by,  147,  150; 
Annunciation,  218  ;  Journey  of  the  Magi, 
261. 

Grauacci,  Francesco,  Madonna  by,  125 ; 
Assumption  of  the  Virgin,  357. 

Gregory  Thaumaturgus,  St.,  vision  of,  61 
note. 

Guercino,  Madonna  by,  37  ;  the  Virgin  and 
St.  Peter  lamenting  the  death  of  the  Sa- 
viour, 326;  Apparitiou  of  Christ  to  his 
Mother,  330. 

Hallara,  History  of  the  Literature  of  Eu~ 
rope  cited,  241),  241. 

Helena,  Empress,  brought  remains  of  Magi 
to  Colotrne,  253. 

Heller,  Albrecht  Diirer,  cited,  345  note. 

Holbein,  Hans  (the  elder),  Coronation,  83. 

Holbein,  Hans,  Meyer  Madonna,  31,  157. 

Holy  Family,  284-304  ;  distinguished  from 
Riposo,  276  ;  a  fifteenth  century  subject, 
20,  284 ;  devotional  treatment  of,  distin- 
guished from  domestic,  285,  286 ;  with 
two  figures,  286-290  ;  with  three  figures, 
290-295  ;  with  four  figures,  295,  296 ;  with 
five  or  six  figures,  296,  297  ;  under  aspect 
of  carpenter's  family,  301. 

Holy  Ghost,  descent  of,  332,  333. 

Hopfer,  David,  Repose  in  Egypt,  278  ;  Holy 
Family,  301. 

Iconoclasts,  schism  of,  11,  12,  116. 

Immaculate  Conception,  99-111  ;  origin  of 
the  doctrine,  25,  99-102  ;  teachings  of, 
29  ;  dress  of  the  Virgin  in,  41,  102  ;  exam- 
ples of,  103-107,  110  ;  distinguished  from 
Predestination,  108. 

Ittenbach,  Maria  Virgo,  202,  294;  Holy 
Family,  294. 

Jameson,  Anna,  Handbook  to  the  Private 
Galleries  of  Art  cited,  25  note. 

'  Jerome,    St.,    representing     sanctification 
through  faith,  82  ;  his  place  in  Madonna 
pictures,  143. 
Jesuitism,  influence  on  art,  26. 

j  Joachim,  St.,  legend  of,  13,  184-192  ;  hia 
rejection  from  the  temple  represented, 
188,  189;  his  reception  of  the  angel's 
message  represented,  189,  190 ;  meeting 
with  Anna,  190-192. 
John  the  Baptist,  representing  sanctifica- 
tion through  baptism,  82 ;  as  patron 
saint  of  Florence,  84;  his  place  in  Ma- 
donna pictures,  133,  134  ;  with  St.  John 
the  Evangelist,  141,  142  ;  as  a  child  in 
Madonna  pictures,  173-176;  legend  of 
Herod's  intention  to  destroy.  269  ;  intro- 
duced as  a  child  into  Holy  Family,  290  ; 
introduced  with  St.  Elizabeth  into  Holy 
Family,  295. 
John,  St.,  the  Evangelist,  in  Madonna  pic- 
tures, 133, 141,  142  ;  tradition  of  his  mar- 
riage at  Cana,  309;  conducting  the  Vir- 
gin home,  327  ;  administering  the  sacra- 
ment to  the  Virgin,  333. 
Joseph,  St.,  his  place  in  Madonna  pictures, 
136,  137  ;  character  of,  203;  how  repre- 
seuted  iii  art,  203,  204  ;  marriage  of,  with 

Mary,  204,  205;  dream  of,  235-237  ;  his 
place  iu  the  Nativity,  242,  246;  question 


368 


GENERAL   INDEX 


of  his  presence  in  Adoration  of  Magi,  25G ; 
his  second  angelic  vision,  2G9 ;  his  care 
of  the  child  in  Flight  into  Egypt,  270  ;  his 
residence  in  Nazareth,  2S4 ;  his  figure  in- 
troduced into  Holy  Family,  291-294  ;  fes- 
tival instituted  in  honor  of,  292 ;  as  a 
sixth  figure  hi  Holy  Family,  296 ;  death 
of,  307-309 ;  introduced  as  a  figure  in 
Marriage  at  Cana,  310. 

Josephus,  quoted,  197  ;   cited,  273. 

Justin  Martyr  cited,  303. 

Kenyon,  John,  A  Gypsy  Carol  cited,  283. 

Kugler,  F.  T.,  Handbook  of  Italian  Schools 
quoted,  24,  54  note,  118  ;  cited,  53  note, 
67  note,  70  note,  75  note,  82  note,  SG 
note,  298  note. 

Lanfranco,  Gio.,  Madonna  of  Mercy,  92; 
Assumption  of  the  Virgin,  355. 

Lanzi,  cited,  90,  110. 

Lasinio,  his  Ancient  Florentine  Masters 
cited,  51  note ;  his  engraving  of  Ghirlan- 
dajo's  Birth  of  the  Virgin  referred  to, 
194. 

Laurati,  see  Lorenzetti. 

Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders  cited,  14 
note,  51  note,  5G  note,  Gl,  71,  75, 78  note, 
98,  104, 144, 150, 151,  15G,  192, 213, 358. 

Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Holy  Family,  135,  295; 
Virgin  of  the  Rocks,  174  ;  Adoration  of 
Magi,  256. 

Leonardo  school,  Madonna,  175. 

Leyden,  Lucas  van,  Madonna,  173 ;  Visita- 
tion, 232  ;  Adoration  of  Magi,  2G0 ;  Re- 
pose in  Egypt,  277  ;  Procession  to  Cal- 
vary, 316. 

Lily,  symbol  of  the  Virgin,  34,  147,  222. 

Lindsay,  Lord,  his  Sketches  of  Christian 
Art  cited,  54  note,  G8  and  note,  130  note  ; 
quoted,  352. 

Lippi,  Filippo,  Coronation,  82,  359  ;  Ma- 
donna of  Mercy,  89,  90 ;  Madonna,  178  ; 
angel  announcing  to  the  Virgin  her  ap- 
proaching death,  340. 

Lippi,  Filippino,  Madonna  attributed  to, 
176. 

Litta,  History  of  the  Italian  Families  cited, 
156  note  ;  Memorials  of  Bentivogli  cited, 
243  note. 

Lorenzetti,  Ambrogio,  Deposition  by,  323. 

Lorenzetti,  Pietro  (Laurati),  Coronation 
by,  76. 

Lorenzo  di  Pavia,  Family  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  297. 

Lorenzo  di  San  Severino,  Marriage  of  St. 
Catherine,  144. 

Loretto,  Casa  di,  legend  of,  59. 

Lorraine,  Claude,  Flight  into  Egypt,  275. 

Lothener,  Maister  Stephen,  Cologne  altar- 
piece,  211,  21G. 

Luini,  Bernardo,  Madonna  by,  34  note  ;  Life 
of  the  Virgin,  54  ;  Joachim  rejected  from 
the  Temple,  189  ;  Joachim  receiving  the 
Annunciation  of  the  Angel,  190;  Alterca- 
tion between  St.  Anna  and  Judith,  190; 
the  Virgin  in  the  Temple,  200  ;  the  Virgin 
and  the  High  Priest,  201  ;  Return  of  Mar- 
riage Procession,  207,  208 ;  Dream  of  Jo- 
seph, 236  ;  Marriage  at  Cana,  310. 

Luke,  St.,  legend  of,  as  painter,  27. 


Mabuse,  Jan  van,  devotional  picture,  55; 
Adoration  of  Magi,  260. 

Macomber,  Mary  L.,  Madonna  Enthroned, 
132. 

Madonna,  origin  and  history  of  effigies  of, 
1-32  ;  prototypes  of  in  early  religions,  3  ; 
earliest  instances  of  worship  of,  5  ;  earli- 
est representations  of,  5-9,  113-121  ;  sup- 
posed authentic  portrait  of,  10  ;  effigies 
of,  on  coins,  12;  Madonna  purissima, 
109;  Madonna  with  Child,  112-183;  en- 
throned witli  Child,  112-166;  standing 
witli  Child,  121,  122  ;  Madonna  in  Gloria 
distinguished  from  Madonna  in  Trono, 
129  ;  enthroned  with  angels,  131, 132  ;  en- 
throned with  personages  of  Old  Law,  133  ; 
with  evangelists  and  apostles,  133  ;  with 
St.  John  the  Baptist,  133,  134 ;  with  St. 
Anna,  135,  13G  ;  with  St.  Joseph,  130,  137  ; 
with  other  saints,  138-147  ;  Florentine  pic- 
tures of,  147  ;  Sienese  pictures  of,  147 ; 
pictures  of,  in  Lombardy,  148  ;  in  Spanish 
and  Flemish  art,  148  ;  pictures  of,  dedi- 
cated by  religious  orders,  148-151  ;  pic- 
tures of,  as  votive  offerings,  151-103  ;  Ma- 
donna del  Parto,  240.  See  also  the  sub- 
jects Virgin  Mary,  Votive  Madonna,  Mater 
Doloroso,  Misericordia,  Mater  Ainabilis, 
Madre  Pia,  Sacra  Conversazione,  Regina 
Coeli,  Regina  Augelorum,  Holy  Family. 

Madre  Pia,  124,  170-178 ;  distinguished 
from  Nativity,  241. 

Magdalene,  St.  Mary,  in  Madonna  pictures, 
145,  14G. 

Magi,  adoration  of,  250-262 :  names  of, 
254. 

Maiano,  Benedetto,  Annunciation  by,  218. 

Mainardi,  Bastiano,  Assumption  by,  50,  352. 

Malvasia,  Felsina  Pit/rice  cited,  25  note, 
237. 

Mantegna,  Andrea,  Madonna  of  Victory, 
152,  153  ;  Madonna,  172. 

Maratti,  Carlo,  Marriage  of  St.  Catherine, 
144 ;  Madonna,  176 ;  Death  of  Joseph, 
308  ;  Death  of  the  Virgin,  346. 

Marriage  at  Cana,  309-312. 

Marriage  of  the  Virgin,  202-208  ;  represen- 
tations of,  205-208. 

Maso  di  Banco,  Deposition  attributed  to  by 
Milanesi,  325  note. 

Massacre  of  Innocents,  introduced  into 
Flight  into  Egypt  and  Riposo,  269. 

Massari,  Lucio,  Riposo  by,  276. 

Massys,  Quentin,  Madonna  by,  166. 

Mater  Amabilis,  166-183;  Greek  pictures  of, 
167,  168 ;  Raphael's  supremacy  in,  1G8 ; 
as  treated  by  Bellini,  Luini,  and  Squar- 
cione,  169  ;  as  treated  by  Bartolomineo, 
170 ;  by  Caracci  and  Vandyck,  170 ; 
modern  examples  of,  173. 

Mater  Dolorosa,  92-98,  317,  326. 

Mater  Sapientise,  see  Virgin  Mary. 

Max,  Gabriel,  Mater  Amabilis  by,  171. 

Meliton,  poem  of,  cited,  46. 

Mellone,  Antonello,  Flight  into  Egypt,  274. 

Memling,  Hans,  Seven  Joys,  55  and  note, 
272  ;  Seven  Sorrows,  55  and  note  ;  Coro- 
nation (attributed  to),  78 ;  altar-piece, 
144  ;  votive  Madonna  (?),  160  ;  Adoration 
of  Kings.  257. 

Memmi,   Simone,   Annunciation,  52    note. 


GENERAL   INDEX 


3G9 


216,  217  ;  Madonna  (attributed  to),  G7, 68  ; 
Christ  among  the  Doctors,  306. 
Meudula  (or  Meldula),  Madonna,  141. 
Mengs,   Raphael,  Adoration  of  Shepherds, 

249. 
Menologium,  miniature  in,  245;  cited,  349 

note. 
Mery,  Abbe,  Theologie  des  Peinlres  cited, 

216,  3(13. 
Michael  Angelo,  see  Buonarroti. 
Michael,  St.,  and  St.  Gabriel,  represented 

with  Madonna,  138-140. 
Milanesi,  Professor,  cited,  325  note. 
Milano,  Giovanni  da,  Life  of  the  Virgin,  50. 
Millies,  Richard  Monckton,  quoted,  170. 
Milton,  .John,  quoted,  29  note,  313  ;  cited, 

222,  248. 
Ministry  of  Christ,  312,  313. 
Misericordia,  Madonna  di,  87-91,  146,    151, 

152. 
Mocchi,  Statue  of  the  Virgin,  225. 
Modeua,  Niccolo  da,  engravings  of  Life  of 

the  Virgin,  54. 
Mola,  Pietro  Francesco,  Repose  in  Egypt, 

279. 
Monaco,  Lorenzo,  Annunciation,  213 ;  Flight 

into  Egypt,  270. 
Moutagna,  Bartolommeo,  Virgin  and  Child 

Enthroned.  146,  147. 
Moon,  symbol  of  the  Virgin,  33  ;  in  Immac- 
ulate Conception,   102 ;    Murillo's   treat- 
ment of,  103. 
Morales,   his    excellence    in    representing 

Mater  Dolorosa,  25. 
Morelli,     Giovanni,    his     Critical   Studies 
of  Italian  Painters  cited,   91  note,  258 
note. 
Moretto(Bonvicino),  Madonna  of  Mercy,  90 
note  ;  Madonna  with  Four  Fathers,  142, 
143. 
Miiller,  Carl,  Madonna  of  the  Grotto,  173  ; 

Holy  Family,  295. 
Miiller,  Franz,  his  Virgin.  202. 
Milliter,  Friedrich,  SinnbUder  cited,    116 

note,  'J4H  note. 
Miintz,  Eugene,  Raphael  cited,  70  note,  82 

note,  95  note,  164  note,  298  note. 
Murano,  Giovanni  ed  Antonio  da,  Madonna, 

79  note,  142  note. 
Murillo,  his  excellence  as  painter  of  Im- 
maculate Conception,  25, 103  ;  as  a  painter 
of  maternity,  26  ;  as  painter  of  Mater 
AmabiliB,  170  j  Madonna  of  the  Rosary, 
68,  151  ;  Madonna  della  Neve,  68,  59  ; 
Virgin  of  the  Napkin,  60 ;  Immaculate 
Conceptions,  106;  Madonna  Pnrissinia, 
109;  Madonna,  170;  Madonna  attributed 
to,   170  note;  Education   of  the  Virgin, 

196;  devoti il  Boly  Family,  285 ;  Holy 

Family.  294  ;   Boly  family,  300;  Proces- 
sion to  Calvary,  316. 
Murray's   Handbooks  cited,    91  note,  105 

nil-,  ill  note. 
Mysteries,  see  Rosary. 

Hanoi  di  Banco,  Glorified  Virgin,  349. 
KtUiviiate  Domini,  II'.  cited,  -Ml'.. 
Nativity,  of  the  Virgin,  193-196;  of  Christ, 
17;    as  a   mystery,  241-244;  as  an 
event,  244-247. 
Neauder,  Church  History  cited,  113. 


Negroponte,  Antonio  da,  Madonna  by,  34 
note,  128. 

Nestorian  Controversy,  10,  113-117. 

Nice,  Council  of,  12. 

Nicephorus  Callixtus  cited,  30,  40. 

Nicholas,  St.,  in  Madonna  pictures,  146. 

Nunc  Dimittis,  Greek  title  of  the  Presenta- 
tion, 266. 

Orcagna,  Andrea  Cione,  Life  of  the  Virgin, 
54 ;    Last  Judgment     attributed   to,   86 
note  ;  Presentation  of  the  Virgin,  197  ; 
Angel  announcing  to  the  Virgin  her  aP"^.. 
proaching  death,   339,  340  ;  Assumption""' 
of  the  Virgin,  349. 

Orsini,  Abbe,  his  description  of  the  Mar- 
riage of  the  Virgin,  205  ;  his  Vie  de  la 
Ste.  Vierge  cited,  274. 

Ottley,  History  of  Engraving  cited,  84. 

Our  Lady,  origin  of  title,  14. 

Pacchia,  Girolamo  del,  Birth  of  the  Virgin, 

52  ;   Annunciation,  52.      . 
Pacheco  quoted,    41,    10(> ;    Arte     de    la 

Pintura  cited,  102  ;  rules  cited,  105. 
Palma,  Giacomo  ("  II  Vecchi^/),  Madonnas 
by,   180,   181,   182 ;    Adoration  of   Magi, 
258  ;  Holy  Family,  295  ;   Assumption  of 
tlje  Virgin,  355.      ^ 
Parmigiano,  Madonna  4el  lungo  Collo,  23 ; 
Madonna,  1S2 ;  Adoration  of  Magi,  256  ; 
Family  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  297  ;  Apostle? 
carry  the  Body  of  the  Virgin  to  the  Tomb, 
347. 
Passavant,  J.  D.,  Rafael  cited,  70  note,  82  ; 

316  note. 
Patriarchs,  represented    in  Madonna  pic- 
tures, 133. 
Paul,  St.,  with   St.  Peter  in   Madonna  pic- 
tures, 118,  140, 141  ;  favorite  saint  of  the 
Benedictines,  148. 
Paul  V.  promulgates  doctrine  of  Immacu- 
late Conception,  101. 
Pellegrino,  Madonna  by,  149 
Ptrate,  Archceoloyie  Chretirnne  cited,  113 

note. 
Perfelto   Legendario,  II,  cited,  225  note  ; 

quoted,  329-330  note, 
i  Perugino,    Pietro,     altar-piece,    140,    177 ; 
Virgin  Enthroned,   142 ;    Madonna  attri- 
buted to,  165;  Marriage  of  the  Virgin, 
200 ;  Family  of  the   Virgin   Mary,  297  ; 
Deposition,  323. 
Peruzzi,  Baldassare,  Sibyl's  Prophecy,  238, 
239  ;  Adoration  of  Magi,  257  ;  frescoes  of 
S.  Onofrio  attributed  to,  '272  note. 
i  Peter,  St.,  and  St.   Paul,  in   Madonna  pic- 
tures, 118,  140,  141. 
Petrarch  quoted,  18. 
Pieta,  94-98,  322. 

l'inturicchio,  Bernardino,  Madonna  by,  20  ; 
Life  of  the  Virgin,  51  ;  Coronation,  77, 
80  ;  the  Virgin  in  the  Temple,  202  ;  two 
Visitations,  232;  Flight  into  Egypt,  at- 
tributed to,  272  ;  Holy  Family,  298 ; 
Christ  among  the  Doctors,  300. 
Piombo,  Sebastian  del,  Visitation  by,  231. 
1'isano  Giunta,  Assumption  of  the  Virgin, 

349. 
Pisano,  Niccolo,  Madonna  by,  121. 
Pomegranate,  symbolism  of,  in  art,  36. 


370 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Pontorrno,  frescoes  in  Aununziata,  52  note. 

Pordeuone,  Giovanni  Antonio  da,  Madonna 
del  Carmine,  151. 

Portraits,  in  sacred  art,  21  ;  Ghirlaudajo's 
custom  of  introducing  into  pictures,  21 
note,  189,  194  ;  introduced  into  Andrea 
del  Sarto's  pictures,  21  note,  195  ;  Andrea 
Sabbatini's  use  of,  in  Visitation,  233  ;  in- 
troduced into  Francia's  Madonna,  243  ; 
introduced  into  Gerard  David's  Adora- 
tion, 25G. 

Poussin,  Niccolo,  Madonna  of  the  Pillar, 
59  ;  how  lie  treated  the  marriage  of  the 
Virgin,  207  ;  represents  the  Virgin  stand- 
ing in  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  2G1  ; 
Flight  into  Egypt,  270 ;  Flight  into  Egypt, 
271 ;  three  paintings  of  Repose  in  Egypt, 
278,  279  ;  ten  paintings  of  Holy  Family, 
295  ;  Holy  Family,  300. 

Predestination  of  the  Virgin,  108,  109. 

Presentation,  of  the  Virgin,  197,  200 ;  of 
Christ,  262-268. 

Procession  to  Calvary,  315-317. 

Prophets,  represented  in  Madonna  pictures, 
38  39   133. 

Protevangelion  cited,  4G,  200,  204,  220, 
240,  245. 

Provencal  Ballad  of  the  Gypsies,  280,  282. 

Puligo,  Domenico,  Madonna  by,  148. 

Purification  of  the  Virgin,  2G2-268  ;  spe- 
cially distinguished  by  turtle  doves,  266. 

Raimondi,  Marc  Antonio,  engraving  oi 
Pieta  after  Raphael,  40  note,  95 ;  en- 
graving of  Madonna  after  Raphael,  287. 

Raphael,  St.,  meaning  of  in  Madonna  pic- 
tures, 140. 

Raphael,  fresco  of  Theology,  21  ;  Madonna 
di  San  Sisto,  24,  31,  159;  Madonna  del 
Cardellino,  37,  290  ;  Pieta,  40  note ;  Ma- 
donna del  Impannata,  59 ;  Madonna  di 
Foligno,  60,  158,  159 ;  Counestabile  Ma- 
donna, 60,  1G9  ;  Disputa,  69  ;  cartoons, 
82 ;  Coronation  of  the  Virgin  (tapestry), 
82  ;  drawing  of  Pieta,  95  ;  Madonna  dell' 
Pesce,  139, 140;  Madonna  del  Baldacchino, 
149;  Madonna  della  Seggiola,  164,  172; 
Madonna  della  Candelabra,  164  ;  Madonna 
del  Gran-Duca,  168 ;  Madonna  Tempi, 
168;  Bridgevvater  Madonna,  168,  292; 
Madonna  della  Casa  Alba,  175 ;  Madonna 
of  the  Meadow,  175  ;  Sposalizio,  206  ;  An- 
nunciation, 222,  227  ;  Visitation,  231 ; 
Adoration  of  Shepherds,  248  ;  Adoration 
of  Magi,  257  ;  design  of  M  idouna,  287  ; 
La  Belle  J  irdiniere,  290 ;  Garvagh 
Madonna,  290,  291  ;  Vierge  a  la  Diademe, 
291  ;  Madonna  di  Loretto,  292,  293 ; 
Madonna  del  Passeggio,  295 ;  Holy 
Family  of  Francis  I.,  298  ;  Lo  Spasirao  di 
Sicilia,  315  ;  drawing  of  Deposition, 
321,  322;  Entombment,  323  note,  324; 
Deposition,  32G ;  Assumption  of  the 
Virgin,  353  ;  Coronation  of  the  Virgin 
attributed  to,  359. 

Razzi,  G.  A.,  see  Bazzi. 

Redford,  George,  Art  Sales  cited,  37,  80 
note,  111,  192  note,  316,  357  note. 

Regina  Aneelorum,  71. 

Regina  Cceli,  70,  71,  84,  125. 

Rembrandt,  Annunciation,  227  ;  Visitation, 


234 ;  Angels  appearing  to  the  Shepherds, 
247  ;  Adoration  of  Magi,  2G1  ;  Flight 
into  Egypt,  273  ;  Repose  in  Egypt,  279  ; 
Le  Manage  du  Meuuisier,  294  ;  another 
Menage  du  Menuioier,  301. 

Rembrandt  school,  Vision  of  Jacob,  247 
note  ;  Repose  in  Egypt,  279. 

Reu6,   King,  Votive  Madonna  by,  160,  161, 

Reni,  Guido,  enthusiasm  for  the  Virgin, 
24  ;  excelled  in  Immaculate  Conception, 
25,  105 ;  Madonna  of  the  Rosary,  5S ; 
Coronation,  80 ;  Pieta,  98  ;  his  paint- 
ings of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  104, 
105,  107  ;  II  Pallione  del  Voto,  155 ;  his 
Virgins  better  than  his  children,  170 ; 
Madonna,  175  ;  the  Virgin  as  a  young 
girl,  200  ;  allegorical  picture,  216  ;  Pre- 
sentation in  the  Temple,  2G8  ;  Apparition 
of  Christ  to  his  Mother,  330  ;  Assump- 
tions, 356  ;  Immaculate  Conception,  356. 

Repose  of  the  Holy  Family  (Riposo),  275- 
283  ;  not  an  ancient  subject,  275  ;  distin- 
guished from  Holy  Family,  275,  276; 
legend  of  Zingarella,  279-282. 

Return  from  Egypt,  283. 

Ribalta,  Francisco,  Virgin  and  St.  John, 
327  note. 

Ribera,  see  Spagnoletto. 

Ridolfi,  cited,  199  note. 

Rio,  A.  F.,  Christian  Art  quoted,  352  note. 

Robbia,  Luca  della,  Annunciation  by, 
209,  218  ;  Nativity,  242. 

Roch,  St.,  in  Madonna  pictures,  146;  with 
St.  Sebastian,  135,  154,  155. 

Roelas,  Juan  de  las,  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion, 105. 

Rosa,  Salvator,  his  Satires  cited,  26 ;  Virgin 
of  Mercy,  152. 

Rosary,  origin  of  festival,  23 ;  mysteries 
of,  55 ;  sorrowful  mysteries  of,  305, 
314,  317,  325 ;  pictures  illustrating  sor- 
rows of,  326  ;  glorious  mysteries  of,  331 , 
332. 

Rose,  symbol  of  the  Virgin,  34. 

Roselli,  Cosimo,  altar-piece,  70. 

Rosini,  Storia  della  Pitlura  Italiana  cited, 
290. 

Rossetti,  Dante  Gabriel,  his  Ave  cited,  32; 
his  Girlhood  of  the  Virgin,  202  ;  his  Ecce 
Ancilla  Domini,  202,  228. 

Rosso,  Sibyl's  Prophecy,  238. 

Rubens,  Peter  Paul,  painted  his  wife  as 
the  Madonna,  26,288;  Coronation  by,  81  ; 
Last  Judgment,  87 ;  Education  of  the 
Virgin,  196  ;  how  he  treated  the  Marriage 
of  the  Virgin,  207  ;  six  Annunciations, 
219  ;  Visitation,  233  ;  fifteen  paintings 
of  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  2G0 ;  Return 
from  Egypt,  283  ;  Holy  Family,  300  ; 
Return  to  Nazareth,  307  ;  Descent  from 
the  Cross,  321  ;  Deposition,  323;  twelve 
Assumptions,  355,  356. 

Runiohr,  Baron  von,  cited,  325  note. 

Sabbatini,  Andrea,  Visitation  by,  232. 

Sacra  Conversazione,  179-183. 

Sacred  aiul  Legendary  Art  cited,  5,  G,  62, 
78  note.  80  note,  84,98,  104  note,  141 
notes,  142,  143  note,  144  note,  145,  155, 
182,  243,  297,  314,  332. 


GENERAL   INDEX 


371 


Salirabeni,  V.,  Holy  Family,  300. 

Sauazzaro.  influence  on  art,  '-"-' ;  his  De 
Partu  Virgin  is,  240,  241. 

Sancta  Dei  Genetrix,  see  Virgin  Mary. 

San  Gallo,  Francesco  da,  St.  Anna,  Ma- 
donna and  Child,  130. 

Sansovino,  baa-reliefs  of  Life  of  the  Virgin, 
54;  Annunciation,  219. 

Sanzio,  Giovanni,  Annunciation  by,  21G. 

Sarto,  Andrea  del,  portraits  of  his  wile,  21  ; 
frescoes  in  the  Auuuuziata,  62  ;  Madonna, 
128 ;  Birth  of  the  Virgin,  195  ;  head  of 
the  Redeemer.  214  ;  Annunciation,  225  ; 
three  Holy  Families,  299  ;  Assumption  of 
the  Virgin,  358. 

Savonarola,  influence  on  art,  21. 

Sebastian.  St.,  with  St.  Roch  hi  art,  135, 
154,  155. 

Seroux  d'Agiucourt,  Histoire  de  V  Art  par 
les  Monument  cited,  76,  122,  194,  190 
note,  254  note. 

Serpent,  symbolism  of,  in  art,  36. 

Scarselliuo,  Virgin  and  Four  Doctors,  143 
note. 

Schatfner,  Martin,  Death  of  the  Virgin, 
345. 

Schaufelein,  Hans,  Angel  announcing  to  the 
Virgin  her  approaching  death,  341. 

Schidone,  Bartolommeo,  Madonna  della 
Campanello,  288  ;  Infant  Christ  learning 
to  read,  304. 

Schoen,  Martin,  Madonna  of  the  Rose  Bush, 
34  ;  Last  Judgment,  86 ;  Pieta,  97  ;  Ma- 
donna, 122  ;  use  of  olive  in  Annunciation, 
217  ;  Adoration  of  Magi,  259,  260 ;  Pro- 
cession to  Calvary,  315,  316 ;  Crucifixion, 
318. 

Scorel,  Jan,  Death  of  the  Virgin,  345. 

Sculpture,  Madonna  in,  121 ;  Nativity  in, 
242. 

Shelley  quoted,  32. 

Sibyl,  Tiburtina,  prophecy  of,  237-239. 

Sibyls,  represented  in  Madonna  pictures, 
39,  133. 

Siena,  Guidoda,  Madonna  by,  118,  119. 

Siena,  Matteo  da,  Madonna  by,  154. 

Siena  school,  Assumption  of  the  Virgin, 
353. 

Signorelli,  Luca,  Madonna  with  St.  Cathe- 
rine, 182. 

Simeon,  his  relation  to  the  Presentation  in 
the  Temple,  264-266. 

Sinkel,  the  Virgin,  202. 

Snow,  Our  Lady  of,  origin  of  title,  58. 

Bolario,  Andrea,  Hadonna  of  the  Green 
Cushion,  287,  288. 

Borrows,  Seven,  of  the  Virgin,  55,  263; 
Presentation  in  the  Temple,  first  of,  26:; ; 
the  Dispute  in  the  Temple,  one  of,  305; 
the  Procession  to  Calvary  and  Crucifixion 
belong  to,  314,326;  Lo  Spasimo,  fourth 
of,  316 ;  the  Crucifixion,  fifth  of,  317  ;  the 
Ascension,  the  last  of,  332. 

Spagnoletto  (Ribera),  his  excellence  in 
representing  .Mater  Dolorosa,  25;  his  pic- 
ture of  Duns  Bcotus,  100. 

Spanish  school  of  art,  characterized,  26. 

do,  Lo,  313  317  ;  explanation  of  title, 
315;  the  fourth  sorrow  of  the  Virgin, 
816,  317. 

Bpinello  Aretino,  Annunciation  by,  223. 


Sposalizio,  see  Marriage  of  the  Virgin. 
Squarcione,  Francesco,  Madonna  by,  169. 
Stabat  Mater,  as  an  art  subject,   94  ;  the 

hymn,  319. 
Stall  •  s  ./'.l  miens  quoted,  215  ;  cited,  237. 
Star,  symbol  of  the  Virgin,  33,  34. 
Steiule,  engraving  of  Madonna  di  San  Sisto, 

31  note  ;  engraving  of   Meyer  Madonna, 

157  note ;    engraving  after   Palma,   181 

note. 
Stirling-Maxwell,   Sir   William,   Annals  of 

tlte  Artists  hi'  Spain   cited,  60  note,  92 

note,  101,  106,  150  note. 
Stranahan,    Clara     Cornelia,    History    of 

French  Painting  cited,  88  note. 
Sun,  symbol  of  the  Virgin,  33  ;  in  Immacu- 
late Conception,  102. 
Symbols,  of  the  Virgin,  33-35 ;  of  Madonna 

and  Child,  35-37,  127. 
Symonds,   J.  A.,    Life  of  Michel  Angelo 

cited,  299  note. 

Tavaroue,  Lazaro,  Immaculate  Conception, 
105. 

Taylor,  Jeremy,  Life  of  Christ  quoted,  236, 
238,  241,  245,  264,  265,  305,  318  ;  cited, 
263  ;  one  of  his  homilies  referred  to,  287. 

Teniers,  David,  Flight  into  Egypt,  274. 

Thausing,  Moritz,  Life  of  Albert  Diirer 
cited,  54  note,  200  note. 

Thayer,  Abbot,  Madonna  by,  71. 

Theodosius  II.,  his  part  in  the  Nestorian 
controversy,  115. 

Throne,  of  Madonna,  how  represented,  127- 
129. 

Tiarini,  Alessandro,  Le  repentir  de  Joseph, 
237  ;  Flight  into  Egypt,  270  ;  Madre  Ad- 
dolorata,  326. 

Tintoretto  (Jacopo  Robusti),  Annunciation, 
223;  Crucifixion,  318. 

Titian,  Annunciation,  35  ;  Vierge  au  La- 
pin,  37,  181  ;  Madonna,  154  ;  Pesaro  Ma- 
donna, 162  ;  Pope  presenting  a  General 
to  St.  Peter,  162  note  ;  Madonna,  165  ; 
Madonna,  165  note  ;  pastoral  Madonnas, 
179-181 ;  Marriage  of  St.  Catherine, 
182 ;  Presentation  of  the  Virgin,  198 ; 
portrait  of  Titian  and  Franceschini,  199 
note  ;  Annunciation,  222  ;  Sibyl's  Pro- 
phecy, 238  ;  Adoration  of  Shepherds,  248  ; 
introduces  court  fool  into  Adoration  of 
Magi,  255 ;  Riposo,  269, 270 ;  two  Riposos, 
278;  Holy  Family,  293;  Entombment, 
324  ;  Assumption  of  the  Virgin,  354,  355. 

Tobar,  Alonzo  Miguel  de,  Divine  Shep- 
herdess, 91. 

Toschi,  engraving  after  Correggio,  354  note. 

Trent,  Council  of,  23. 

Triptych  defined,  43. 

Twining,  Louisa,  Symbols  of  Early  Chris- 
tian and  Midland  Art  cited,  15  note. 

TJdine,  Giovanni  da,  Christ  among  the 
Doctors,  306. 

Vandyck,  Antony,  Mater  Dolorosa.  93  ; 
Madonna,     170  ;    represents    the    Virgin 

standing  in  Adoration  of  Magi,  261  ;  Re- 
pose in  Egypt,  278  ;  Madonna,  288. 
Van    Dyke,   Henry,    Christ-Child  in   Art 

cited,  210  note,  228,  294. 


372 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Vanni,  Francesco,  Return  from  Egypt, 
282,  283. 

Vasari,  cited,  51,  109,  111  note,  120,  194, 
233,  238,  243  note,  314  note,  352. 

Veeelli,  C,  replica  of  Titian,  180. 

Velasquez,  Corouation,  81 ;  Immaculate 
Conception,  105. 

Venetian  painters,  their  numerous  represen- 
tations of  St.  Mark,  133  :  their  veneration 
for  St.  Nicholas,  St.  George,  and  St. 
Catherine,  14G ;  their  pictures  crowded 
with  saints,  147,  148  ;  their  favorite  ar- 
rangement of  Madonna  and  Child,  1G5 ; 
their  excellence  in  Sacra  Conversazioni', 
179  ;  their  pictures  of  the  Nativity,  248  ; 
introduced  oriental  accessories  into  Ado- 
ration of  Magi,  255  ;  their  fondness  for 
the  Riposo,  275  ;  their  fondness  for  paint- 
ing groups  from  ballads,  280  ;  the  first 
to  make  the  Marriage  at  Cana  a  popular 
subject,  310. 

Venusti,  Marcello,  Pieta  (after  Michael 
Angelo},  96  ;  Holy  Family  (after  Michael 
Angelo),  137. 

Veronese,  Paul,  two  examples  of  Holy 
Family  with  St.  Anna,  137  ;  four  paint- 
ings of  Adoration  of  Magi,  2G0  note ; 
his  paintings  of  the  Marriage  at  Cana, 
311 ;  Christ  taking  leave  of  his  Mother, 
314. 

Vincenzo,  Catena,  Madonna  attributed  to, 
163. 

Virgin  Mary,  supposed  authentic  descrip- 
tion of,  30;  symbols  and  attributes  of, 
33-42,  10C;  dress  of,  40-42,  65,  81,  102, 
125,  126  ;  subjects  from  life  in  series,  46  ; 
examples,  47-53  ;  seven  joys  of,  54  ;  seven 
sorrows  of,  55  ;  titles  of,  56-59  ;  English 
churches  dedicated  to,  60  note  ;  repre- 
sented without  the  Child,  64-110  ;  Greek 
type  of,  C4-GG  ;  as  Heavenly  Wisdom 
( Virgo  Sapientiw  or  Mater  Sapientice) 
68-70, 125,  333  ;  enthroned  without  Child, 
examples  of,  68-71  ;  coronation  of,  72- 
84,  358-360 ;  as  Virgin  of  Mercy,  85-92, 
146  ;  in  Last  Judgment,  85-87 ;  as  dis- 
penser of  mercy  on  earth,  87-91  :  as  shep- 
herdess, 91  ;  as  Saneta  Dei  Genet  rix, 
114-116  ;  life  of,  from  birth  to  marriage, 
184-208;  nativity  of,  193-196;  education 
of,  196;  presentation  of,  in  temple,  197- 
200  ;  in  the  temple,  200  ;  girlhood  of,  200- 
202  ;  marriage  of,  202-208  ;  life  of,  from 
annunciation  to  return  from  Egypt,  209- 
283  ;  annunciation  to.  209-228  ;  visitation 
of,  228-235  ;  purification  of,  262-268  ;  life 
of,  from  sojourn  in  Egypt  to  crucifixion, 
284-381  ;  how  represented  in  Dispute  in 


Temple,  305,  306;  introduced  incident 
tally  into  the  Marriage  at  Cana,  310  ;  not 
represented  conspicuously  in  scenes  of 
Christ's  ministry,  312 ;  how  represented 
in  the  Procession  to  Calvary,  315 ;  how 
represented  in  the  Crucifixion,  317-319  ; 
in  the  Descent  from  the  Cross,  319 ;  in 
Deposition,  322  ;  in  Entombment,  324  ; 
life  of,  from  resurrection  of  Christ  to 
assumption,  32S-360  ;  apparition  of  Christ 
to,  328-331  ;  how  represented  in  the  As- 
cension, 332 ;  introduction  of,  into  De- 
scent of  Holy  Ghost,  332  ;  receives  sacra- 
ment from  St.  John,  333 ;  legends  of 
later  life,  334  ;  death  and  assumption  of, 
336-358 ;  announcement  of  death  to,  340, 
341  ;  death  of,  341-347;  her  body  borne 
to  tomb  by  apostles,  346,  347  ;  entomb- 
ment of,  347 ;  assumption  of,  347-358. 
See  also  the  subjects  Madonna,  Votive 
Madonnas,  Mater  Dolorosa,  Misericordia, 
Immaculate  Conception,  Predestination, 
Mater  Amabilis,  Madre  Pia,  Sacra  Con- 
versazione, Regina  Cceli,  Regina  Ange- 
lorum. 

Virgo  Sapientia?,  see  Virgin  Mary. 

Visitation,  228-235. 

Vivarini,  Alvise,  Virgin  enthroned  with  her 
parents,  136. 

Volterra,  Daniel  di,  Descent  from  the 
Cross,  320,  321. 

Voragine,  Jacopo  di,  see  Golden  Legend. 

Votive  Madonnas,  151-163 ;  representing 
the  Virgin  of  Mercy,  151,  152;  represent- 
ing tin.  Madonna  of  Victory,  152,  153 ; 
representing  the  Virgin  as  a  deliverer 
from  plague  and  pestilence,  154, 155 ;  as  a 
defender  against  floods  and  fire,  155,  156 ; 
as  family  votive  offerings,  156-158 ;  as 
offerings  of  a  single  votary,  158-160. 

Werff ,  Adrian  van  der,  Flight  into  Egypt, 

274,  275. 
Weyden,   Roger  van   der,    triptych,  243  ; 

Presentation  in  the  Temple,  267,  268. 
Wilkie,  Sir  David,  cited,  91  note. 
Woermann,  Catalogue  of  Dresden  Gallery 

cited,  90-91  note,  157  note,  179  note. 
Wordsworth  quoted,  17,  32. 
Wright,    Thomas,    his    Chester   3fysteries 

cited,  254. 

Zacharias  introduced  into  Holy  Family, 
296. 

Zaganelli,  Francesco  (da  Cotignola),  An- 
nunciation by,  217. 

Zani,  Pietro,  cited,  318. 

Zuccaro,  Encounter  with  the  Robbers,  274. 


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